Member-Sponsored Briefing: The Continuing Role of Strong Schools MD in Protecting the Blueprint’s Promises

Please join us for a member-sponsored briefing on the continuing role of Strong Schools Maryland in protecting the Blueprint’s promises to Maryland’s children and how you can get involved in investing in the long-term infrastructure of education advocacy in Maryland.

Strong Schools Maryland (“SSM”) is the foremost non-governmental authority on Blueprint implementation among state-level policy advocates and is the convenor of the Blueprint Coalition, made up of numerous partners. Strong Schools Maryland was instrumental in the historic passage of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a comprehensive school reform initiative passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2021. This bill, with its five key educational investment areas, came with a large price tag, an estimated $32 billion increase in support for schools throughout the State of Maryland over a decade. Since the passage of the Blueprint, Strong Schools Maryland has worked hard to avert public education funding cuts and to fight modifications to important parts of the legislation.
 
Speakers for this program, including the organization’s Executive Director Riya Gupta, will discuss Strong Schools Maryland’s role in shaping and protecting the Blueprint and its transition into a youth-led, statewide hub and convener for public education advocacy, resources, and strategy. They will highlight existing budget shortfalls and broader national threats to public education and how they see those influencing Maryland education in the coming years.
 
Finally, speakers will discuss the need for continued philanthropic partnership to sustain the work of Strong Schools Maryland through 2026 and, more broadly, to invest in the long-term infrastructure of education advocacy in Maryland.
 
This briefing is sponsored by the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation and The Richman Foundation.
 
This program is for Maryland Philanthropy Network members and invited guests only.