PRESS RELEASE: New Report: Maryland Made a Down Payment on Coaching, Now it Needs to Finish the Purchase
Other states are already seeing results from sustained coaching investments; Maryland READS calls on the legislature to maintain its commitment in 2027
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | September 20, 2026
BALTIMORE, MD —
Maryland READS today released a new report, “The Case for Sustaining Maryland’s Investment in Literacy Coaching,” documenting the first year of the state’s statewide instructional coaching program and making the case for continued state investment in the 2027 legislative session. The report was released at the 27th Annual Baltimore Book Festival, where Trish Brennan-Gac, Executive Director of Maryland READS led a panel, “From Policy to Practice: How Reading Coaches Are Transforming Reading Instruction in Maryland,” bringing educators, community leaders, and advocates together to discuss the impact of literacy coaching and sustaining state investment. Panelists included Dr. Tenette Y. Smith, Clarence C. Crawford, and Keonda Adih.
The report finds that the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), under State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright, has moved quickly to build the infrastructure for a statewide coaching corps. With $14.2 million in first-year funding, MSDE has hired more than 60 full-time instructional coaches for the 2026–27 school year, expanded a pilot program in Prince George’s County Public Schools, and stood up the Early Literacy Coaching Network to support coaches statewide.
The report cautions that meaningful results take time, and that Maryland’s program is still too new to move the needle in the schools where coaches are being placed.
The evidence from states further along tells the story. As more states’ 2025–26 test scores become available, a pattern is emerging: coaching works when states stick with it. Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina — all of which have sustained investments in coaching over multiple years — are now among a small group of states funding a literacy coach in every elementary school statewide, and are seeing measurable gains in reading achievement to show for it. Wisconsin and Ohio are following suit, expanding their own coaching programs in 2026.
Here in Maryland, since 2019, only two of Maryland’s 24 school systems — Baltimore City and Dorchester County — have posted proficiency gains in 4th grade reading every single year. Progress elsewhere across the state has been real in places, but inconsistent — underscoring why a one-year infusion of funding isn’t enough to change outcomes for Maryland’s students.
“A down payment only pays off if you finish the purchase,” said Trish Brennan-Gac, Executive Director of Maryland READS. “MSDE has done the hard work of standing up a real coaching program in less than a year, and that deserves recognition. But other states are showing us exactly what it takes to turn that foundation into results: not a single year of funding, but consistent, sustained investment. The legislature has an opportunity this session to build on its first installment so that every child in this state has the support they need to learn to read, not just the ones fortunate enough to be in a school with a coach.”
Maryland READS is calling on the General Assembly to build on the $14.2 million first-year investment rather than treat it as a one-time expenditure.
Download the full report for state-by-state comparisons and county-level MCAP data since 2019.
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About Maryland READS
Maryland READS is a nonprofit organization working to end Maryland’s reading crisis by advancing evidence-based literacy policy, building community capacity, and driving systemic change. Through the READ Strong Network, Maryland READS partners with families, educators, community organizations, and elected officials in counties across Maryland to ensure every child learns to read.
www.marylandreads.org
info@marylandreads.org
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