Recognizing that quality educators are key to student success, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is implementing a new Blueprint for Maryland’s Future program to attract and retain National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) in the State’s low-performing schools.

This program increases the salary by $10,000 for participating Nationally Board Certified Teachers who are teachers actively teaching in Maryland public schools.

Teachers staying or moving to a low-performing school will receive an additional $7,000 added to their salary. A Nationally Board Certified Teacher will continue to earn the salary increase, even if the school shows improvement and is no longer identified as a low-performing school. Currently, only 5 percent of Maryland’s National Board Certified Teachers are working in low-performing schools.

To learn more about the process to earn National Board Certification, visit: www.nbpts.org. We encourage all educators to reach out to their Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to learn about available support for this program.

What low-performing schools are participating?

MSDE will identify the schools eligible for the program each year. Maryland public schools earning a 1 or 2-star rating in Maryland’s Accountability System in two of the last three available years of data meet the State definition. In addition to schools meeting the State definition, each local education agency will also have the flexibility to also include up to 10 percent of the low-performing schools within their district. This local flexibility invites all local education agencies to participate in the NBCT program based on local circumstances and priorities. MSDE will publish a complete list of participating schools starting each year beginning with the 2022-23 school year.