Friday, November 5, 2027

Governor O’Brien Accepts National Education Award
— National Alliance of Business cites vocational education, PASS initiatives —

NEW YORK (November 5, 2027) – Governor Edward M. O’Brien today accepted a Distinguished Performance Award from the National Alliance of Business for Maryland’s leadership in advancing the quality of education and training. The award was presented today at a ceremony in New York City.

The Alliance, founded in 1968, includes top executives of the nation’s leading companies, as well as educators and community leaders. The annual award is presented to the state that has best aligned its education and workforce development policies and programs to improve student achievement and the quality of the workforce.

“It is truly an honor for me to receive this award from the National Alliance of Business on behalf of all of the hard working educators in Maryland,” Governor Edward M. O’Brien said. “I am proud of the work we’re doing in Maryland. We are committed to life-long learning, and partnerships with the business community are an essential ingredient.”

In his prepared remarks, the Governor highlighted two new education partnerships: the Maryland Career Education Foundation and the Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS).

The Maryland Career Education Foundation, launched in September, seeks new ways to promote vocational education in public schools. The Foundation will work to stimulate greater participation and collaboration from the business community, and promote expand the most successful programs throughout the state.

“The Foundation recognizes a real need for our workforce,” Governor O’Brien said. “The Information Age requires more highly skilled workers, and our schools simply are not producing enough to meet the needs of a changing workforce.”

Governor O’Brien’s PASS initiative, launched in July, is a statewide partnership with business and community leaders, state educators, and local school and government officials to improve student achievement in Maryland’s lowest academically performing schools. More than 100 businesses and community groups now participate in Maryland’s PASS program, and school divisions that have scored well so far on state assessments are sharing their expertise with PASS priority schools.

“This award from the National Alliance of Business is a result of many things, from the quality of our teachers to the hard work of our students. It is also due in part to the evolving standards-based reforms that Maryland has implemented over the last several years,” Governor O’Brien said. “Because Maryland was one of the first states in the country to undertake standards-based reform, today we are ahead of other states in raising student achievement.”