15 years ago, it looked like the effort to save the Chesapeake Bay had turned a corner. "There was a collective sense," said one longtime federal scientist, “that we had broken through." Today, he and others worry that, four decades in, the movement is losing steam: www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

High schoolers in pre-K classrooms? Whether as unpaid interns or paid aides, it's happening in Maryland. And those running preschool programs say it's a way to recruit (and then hopefully retain) a dwindling workforce as the state races to expand public pre-K www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

A new federal student loan cap could make Maryland’s doctor shortage even worse. In my latest, I unpack how the Trump administration’s Grad PLUS changes may block low-income students and students of color from graduate programs across the state: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

ICYMI, the latest investment in early ed: Baltimore is setting aside $500,000 in grant money to expand preschool access and will start to look at vacant and underutilized city buildings to possibly house child care and pre-K programs www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

NEW: Thousands of Baltimore students can’t get to school on time because of unreliable transit. The city's school choice system complicates creating a yellow bus network for all. A new plan proves it can be done. w/ @lizbowie.bsky.social & @ajv.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

West Baltimore will lose a beloved school that couldn’t make ends meet for years

Methodology

Anne Arundel County is going to take a historic step and apologize for its role in perpetuating slavery. The local NAACP, under new leadership, says it's no longer interested in participating.

Though it got a 3-year charter renewal in January, Baltimore City Schools is closing New Song Academy at the end of the school year - after moving all of its students out of a "deteriorating" building next month www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Exclusive to the @thebaltimorebanner.com: Johns Hopkins has spent nearly double this year on federal lobbyists. The university has spent $1.3 million so far, with money going directly to an associate of Trump to lobby to the Executive Office of the President: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Your Sunday read: The Maryland School for the Blind was “decrepit” just 10 years ago, its superintendent said. But record investments are making huge differences for kids. And now, athletics are taking center stage with a new gym and 2 pools. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

BREAKING: Tuition at Johns Hopkins University will be free for students from families making less than $200,000. For families making under $100,000, tuition and living expenses will be covered. The change is taking effect this spring: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Johns Hopkins University will no longer charge tuition to undergraduate students from families making under $200,000 a year, the school announced Thursday. The university will also cover the room and board and other living expenses for students whose families make under $100,000. buff.ly/MRJcyFm

By @sararuberg.bsky.social: ICE took her husband. She’s fighting to keep the lights on and hope alive. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Howard Community College faculty escalate clash with president

Baltimore City is offering up to $5,000 over two months to help essential federal workers and families on SNAP with child care costs. But there are already hundreds of families in line. Here's how you can join them: www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Hundreds already in line for Baltimore’s child care shutdown aid

By @briaovers.bsky.social and @jasminevaughnhall.bsky.social: ‘We keep waiting.’ The long struggle of the Superblock’s dwindling business district. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Controversial opinion from a woman without children: We need more, not less, kid-friendly spaces. And I'm obsessed with Christina Tkacik's latest profile. "Punk is family. Punk is community. Punk is children and upbringing and showing them the world and everything." www.thebanner.com/culture/food...

Blexit, a group that aims to convince Black Americans to leave the Democratic Party and become conservatives, is on its HBCU tour. It stopped by Bowie State University last week.

Happy Halloween! Since I can trace my horror fascination back as far as I remember, I wanted to find the Maryland kids who love all things scary, strange and creepy. They really didn't disappoint. www.thebanner.com/community/fa...

The child care scholarship program has been frozen since May. One Maryland lawmaker said she's prioritizing doling out new scholarships next legislative session - which doesn't start until January. The program is the #1 way MD families get help with child care www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Morgan State University President David Wilson got a mysterious phone call at the start of October: a confidential high profile donor was interested in giving to the HBCU. Two weeks later, $63 million was in the university’s bank account. Here’s what happened: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Do you ever get so overwhelmed at work you need to take a walk to clear your head? It happens to kids, too, which is why they should go outside, play and learn naturally from the world around them. Click for the cute pictures, keep reading for the brain science www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Montgomery County’s only charter school is having trouble. It has had to move temporarily from Germantown to Bethesda, a burden for its parents in Upcounty. Then, its transportation vendors have had compliance issues. And so parents have been pulling out.

How ‘The Blair Witch Project’ birthed a terrifying film subgenre in Maryland, Patrick McCaslin reports. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Preschool without a building could be in Maryland’s future

Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents. I did it because the government isn’t. This is what I found.

I worked with the great @brendawintrode.bsky.social on my latest: Towson University students moved their “No Kings” rally off campus after a school official told them speakers’ names would be run through federal government databases and vetted for security reasons. www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Did you know SNAP & WIC don’t cover diapers? Parents not having enough diapers for their babies can mean UTIs, diaper rashes and having to stay home from child care. In Baltimore, it would take an extra 10 million diapers a year to keep babies dry and healthy. www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

I had such an incredible time (🥁) visiting the Renaissance Festival and talking with vendors there for this story. The Maryland Renn Fest is a true institution, and one of the most popular festivals like it in the country. It's also, as I found out, one of the most desirable for vendors.

wow, a stunning and consequential finding, reported by @mayaklora.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com — most kids in Maryland are locked out of after school programs.

Faculty at Baltimore City Community College were "blindsided" by Kurt Schmoke's plan to merge their employer with the University of Baltimore, the faculty union rep said at BCCC's Board of Trustees meeting. Here's the latest in the merger saga: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

3/4 of Maryland kids can't get into after school programs. That keeps parents from being able to work while shutting kids out of much-needed extra learning and social time outside of the classroom. The situation was dire even before uncertainty under the Trump admin www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Take a peek inside UMBC's Garrett collection, one of the world’s largest archives devoted to the study of hauntings, poltergeists, out-of-body experiences and seances. Happy spooooooky season, Maryland: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

NEW: A few weeks ago, @muckrock.com shared the Brady list for Baltimore County. Scanning it, I noticed the police chief was on there. I then spent weeks trying to figure out why. But no one — not the state's attorney, nor the police department — is explaining it. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...

The players at the center of the crisis are out-of-towners — a group of investors from a small community in New York. @halliemiller.bsky.social , Sahana Jayaraman and Giacomo Bologna on how Baltimore's problem could be the start of something larger. www.thebanner.com/community/ho...

NEW INVESTIGATION: Investors have spent years falling in love with the 'debt service coverage ratio' loan. The loans have allowed access to vast sums with few conditions, and now make up 40% of mortgage dollars in Baltimore. Now they're going bad. (Story below ⬇️)

The child care scholarship is the main way Maryland families get help with child care. Since many can't afford it otherwise, day cares and preschools rely on vouchers to fill spots. So what happens when the program gets frozen - and doesn't come back when predicted? www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

Hear ye, hear ye: The do’s and don’ts of Renn Fest

Overall, 438.9 positions were eliminated to save millions, school officials reported. Just over 300 of those positions came from inside schools. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

I wrote my first ever obituary this week, about a Morgan State professor and former dean who truly transformed the lives of those he taught. "Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University" www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University

You've probably heard of Head Start, the federally funded, free early childhood ed program a lot of people worry might be going away soon. But Howard County is forging ahead - and extending seats to babies as young as 6 weeks old www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

ICYMI: People with a variety of views have a LOT to say about the University Boulevard Corridor plan in Montgomery County, which aims to increase transit-oriented housing and safer transit pathways. Here, I lay out the facts and attempt to dispel some myths: www.thebanner.com/community/lo...

NEW: The IRS has scrutinized Baltimore nonprofit Second Chance, its appraiser and donors for years. Donors have been writing off their entire homes, rather than just salvaged materials. Tax guys say, uh, no. Read @lillianreed.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com www.thebanner.com/economy/seco...

Today in Maryland higher ed news: The University System of Maryland Chancellor spoke about the "crippling" federal + state cuts the USM has faced, while the president of Johns Hopkins University announced their hiring freeze is continuing. Read: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

The national Blue Ribbon program has come to an end. @mayaklora.bsky.social wrote about what Maryland educators had to say about it. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

My pilgrimage from Baltimore to Buc-ee’s

I'm so excited to share my new freelancing website, madeleineoneill.com! If you're looking for a Baltimore-based writer for courts/criminal justice/legal coverage, features, editing, or help locating public records, I'm your girl. 📸 by the incredible @jessicagallagher.bsky.social!