As a parent of both a current and a future middle school student in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, I am asking the Board and district leadership for real transparency and accountability as the Middle School Redesign Pilot moves forward at Bates, Arundel, and Corkran this fall. The pilot is likely to launch as scheduled — but that makes it more important, not less, that families get honest answers and a real voice in how it's evaluated and adjusted.

The Problem

AACPS has cited a new Maryland State Department of Education policy requiring 60 minutes of daily math instruction by SY 2027–28 as the reason for this redesign. We support that goal. But the state mandate requires more math time — it does not require cutting Science and Social Studies to make room for it. That tradeoff is a decision AACPS made, not a requirement handed down by the state.

Under the pilot schedule as currently proposed:

• Science and Social Studies instructional time drops from roughly 150.5 to 112.1 hours per year each — a 26% reduction
• ELA and Math instructional time rises to roughly 191.8 hours per year each — a 28% increase
• These cuts land on two of the four core subjects, with no public evidence, data, or curriculum office input shared to justify why Science and Social Studies were chosen to absorb the loss

Meanwhile, the process itself has lacked the transparency families deserve:

• Building administrators reportedly knew about these changes 5–6 months before families were informed but were unable to share with the community until June 2, 2026
• The Unit 2 members of the Middle School Task Force that shaped this redesign has never been made public
• Families' academic concerns raised at information sessions have been met with responses like "I hear you," with no substantive engagement on the data or the alternatives that were considered

Other options exist. Parents have already formally proposed alternatives to the district — such as shortening Advisory periods to redistribute time, or integrating math concepts into Science and Social Studies units — that could meet the state's math requirement without cutting instructional time elsewhere. We have not been told why these were rejected, or whether they were considered at all.

What We're Asking For

We call on the AACPS Board of Education and Superintendent to:

• Publicly release the Unit 2 Members who were/are a part of the Middle School Task Force and the timeline of when decisions were made
• Publish the alternatives considered to cutting Science and Social Studies — including proposals already submitted by families — and the evidence used to reject them
• Commit to measurable, published evaluation criteria for the pilot, including specific, defined checkpoints during SY 2026–27 at which outcomes will be publicly reported to families
• Commit in writing to restoring Science and Social Studies instructional time at any pilot school where the evaluation data does not show a clear academic benefit
• Hold a real public dialogue with the Task Force and curriculum leadership — not an information session, but a forum where academic concerns receive substantive, specific answers, before the pilot begins and at regular intervals throughout the year

Middle school is a foundational period in a child's education. A redesign this significant, affecting core instructional time for thousands of students, deserves more than a compliance shortcut and a "noted." Even if the pilot proceeds as scheduled, families deserve transparency, evidence, and a real seat at the table in how it's judged and adjusted.

Response to Bob Mosier 

Sign this petition to demand real answers and real accountability from AACPS.