The following information is applicable to teachers, administrators, school psychologists, school counselors, liaisons, student engagement teachers, social workers, pupil personnel workers, community school site coordinators, related service providers, paraeducators and student assistants.
A commitment to improving and restructuring professional learning was called for in the HCPSS Strategic Plan and necessitated by several additional factors, including the evolving professional learning demands from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the Maryland State Department of Education’s System of Professional Learning, and changes in Maryland licensure requirements.
During the 2025-26 school year, HCPSS staff will engage in 18 hours of high-quality systemic professional learning referred to as “Unified By Design.” This job-embedded professional learning will enable educators to co-create instructional coherence through strong Tier 1 instruction for all learners — centered on multilingual learners and students with disabilities — supported by evidence-based strategies, data-informed decisions and meaningful professional discourse.
These sessions will be held during HCPSS countywide systemic professional learning days on Aug. 18 and 20, Sept. 17, Nov. 12, Jan. 22, Feb. 4, March 3, and April 15; and, on a date identified by each principal during a school-based session in October, December, March and May.
Staff will receive Professional Development Points (PDPs) towards Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) licensure renewal for each session they attend. Staff must preregister for each session and are required to sign in on the day of the event in order to receive PDPs. Sign-in sheets will be cross referenced against Frontline Professional Learning Management (PLM) system registration to verify attendance, participation and PDPs.
Teachers, administrators, school psychologists, school counselors, liaisons, student engagement teachers, social workers, pupil personnel workers, community school site coordinators, related service providers, paraeducators and student assistants should preregister on Frontline for HCPSS Systemic Professional Learning: Unified By Design (Countywide PL) (15 PDPs) (TPD8511).
Staff will receive more information about the 2025-26 school-based systemic professional learning sessions (3 PDPs) at a later date.