ft. the Maryland State Education Association. MSEA Legislative Director Sean Johnson and MSEA President Cheryl Bost join the MD Dems Podcast to talk about the Kirwan Commission’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The podcast kicks off with a basic question, “What is Kirwan?” (5:24). This explanation leads to the topic of community schools— an education model that has enjoyed significant publicity since LeBron James in Akron, Ohio in 2018. Cheryl breaks down the impact the model has on school children and the broader community (17:20). The Blueprint calls for— on average— up to $2M in additional funding per school in Maryland over the next 10 years. Cheryl and Sean talk about how customized resources for every school in Maryland would create lasting and transformational change to our educational outcomes (21:50). Arinze asks how the Blueprint recommendations will impact Maryland families across the state (28:00). Then Arinze asks Cheryl and Sean “what’s in it” for Marylanders that do not currently have school aged children. Sean addresses the fictional “Kirwan Tax Hike Commission” and other misleading talking points put forward by Governor Hogan (34:00). Arinze presses Sean about the perception that the legislature is preparing to throw good money after bad to fix underperforming schools in Maryland. Sean and Cheryl push back by talking about concentrated poverty in jurisdictions around the state and the strict accountability measures incorporated in the Blueprint’s proposals (43:00). Studies show that Americans are falling behind in education in comparison to the rest of the developed world— even when adjusted for income. Arinze asks “what are we missing out on” that other nation’s schoolchildren are enjoying when given an equivalent amount of resources (50:00). The conversation wraps with information about how residents can participate in the legislative push to pass the Blueprint during this year’s legislative session (56:00).