In a new arrangement, people in prison in Maryland will have access to programs at all the state's public universities. The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has formalized an agreement with the University System of Maryland to offer college courses in every state prison. The Memorandum of Understanding or MOU is the first in the nation between a state corrections division and an entire university system.

Danielle Cox, director of education with the Maryland DPSCS, said the umbrella agreement will streamline the addition of new programs.

"Instead of it taking months to do an MOU, we would just do a simple addendum, or university agreement for each college, that simply states what program they're to offer, what facilities, how many credits, that sort of thing," Cox explained. "So, it cuts down that six to seven month MOU process to a matter of a couple of weeks."

Incarcerated individuals will be able to earn selected bachelor's degrees and credit-based certificates from any of the 12 universities in the state system. Maryland already had five universities offering prison education prior to the new agreement.

Colleges in the state's program don't deny anyone in prison access based on educational assessments. Instead, the state offers bridge programs and tutoring appropriate to the individual. Existing programs have been so popular, there are waitlists - and Cox added educators are using that time to get students ready.

"We're seeing that tutoring while they're on a waitlist has really been beneficial to getting them where they need to be a lot quicker," she explained.

A RAND study found people who participated in a prison education program had a 43% lower likelihood of recidivism.

The oldest higher-ed program in the Maryland system dates from 2012 and is run by Goucher College. Cox said a recent analysis of that program found even a limited amount of time dedicated to learning yields benefits.

"What we saw with the Goucher data is that, out of all the students that participated in their program for at least a semester, they only had a 5.4% recidivism rate during that 12-year period," she continued.

In late 2020, Congress reinstated federal Pell grants for incarcerated individuals, reversing a restriction that had been in place since 1994. Cox said the expansion of the Prison Education Program in Maryland is aided by the increased availability of grant funds.


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Members of the teacher's union, the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers, are celebrating the signing of the Social Security Fairness Act.

President Joe Biden recently signed the legislation into law. It boosts retirement benefits for some school district employees and other public servants nationwide.

Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT, said Texas is one of 15 states that denied public servants Social Security benefits, because of money paid into pension plans.

"We had people actually leave education and go back into other industries when they found out this was the case," said Capo, "so that they made sure that they didn't incur these penalties. So, we were actually losing good, qualified people."

He added that teaching is a second career for about 40% of teachers in the state, and they shouldn't be penalized for changing careers.

Capo said he believes the legislation will help school districts recruit more teachers and assist in easing the teacher shortage.

"They're bringing their experience from the workforce," said Capo, "they're bringing their experience from other places - whether they were scientists in different industries or worked in the healthcare system, and are now coming in to teach math and science and workforce classes in our public schools."

He said educators aren't the only ones benefiting from the change.

"They may have made $20,000 or $30,000 their entire career," said Capo. "Cooking lunches, cleaning our classrooms, driving our buses, and they're going to get on average about a $360-a-month increase -- which, for many of them, is the difference between buying groceries and buying medication."

Connecticut educators and other public sector workers are celebrating passage of the Social Security Fairness Act.

The new federal law repealed two provisions which had reduced Social Security benefits for some public sector workers who also receive a pension and who will now be eligible for benefits they would have earned in 2024.

Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said passing this law rights a 40-year-old wrong.

"The government chose, erroneously, to penalize public service employees to try and balance Social Security, and it was never a just cause," Dias asserted. "It's great to see this overturned; money returned to people who have rightfully earned it."

Supporters of the change said the biggest challenge to passing the law was many people were unaware of these limits for public employees. Some critics charged it could speed up the timelinefor Social Security's insolvency.

Dias feels there's more work to do, including higher teacher salaries to reflect the education required to do the work. Reports show most Connecticut salaries do not keep up with the cost of living.

Feedback on the law has been overwhelmingly positive. Dias noted the money being reimbursed to public sector workers will enable some to retire who otherwise could not, without losing certain benefits.

"We have teachers that are in their 70s that haven't been able to retire," Dias observed. "This is going to enable them to do that. We've gotten the stories from people who called us and said, 'I've been living moment to moment, paycheck to paycheck, and been collecting food stamps, and now I'm not going to have to do that. I'm not going to be a burden to my family.'"

The new law may also help Connecticut recruit second-career teachers, people with previous careers as accountants, engineers and in other in-demand fields. Since the state is in the third year of a teacher shortage, Dias added it could help close widening gaps.

"In terms of retention, those second-career educators we have brought into the profession often have to leave before they are vested in the pension so they don't get penalized," Dias pointed out. "That's a problem as well, because they're only with our profession for a short period of time, as opposed to being able to have a long career."

A North Carolina university student is breaking new ground in math education.

Megan McAnany is an elementary and special education major at William Peace University.

She is making history as the first student from her school to win the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics Outstanding Mathematics Education Student award.

McAnany said her achievement highlights her dedication to math education, and the value of her university's personalized teaching approach.

"I felt very honored to be able to be the one that's recognized for my school," said McAnany. "And I think part of that is because I had such great classmates, and a teacher that focused really on that one-on-one."

The NCCTM began recognizing college students in 2012, with winners typically coming from larger institutions - such as East Carolina, North Carolina State, and Elon University.

McAnany is set to begin student teaching this spring, following her successful placement at Green Elementary in Raleigh.

She said her goal is to make math engaging and approachable, something that played a key role in earning the award. She also credited her student-centered approach for its impact on young learners.

"You have to see your student - who they are, who their interests are, what their strengths are, and what their needs are," said McAnany. "And instead of teaching everybody the same and giving them the same strategies, you have to look at it as an individualized student and help them find different strategies. "

As North Carolina grapples with a shortage of teachers, McAnany said she is ready to bring fresh energy and innovative strategies to the classroom, inspiring the next generation of learners.