The Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) signed off on a four-year $2.8 million contract Wednesday to launch a statewide teacher recruitment campaign.

The contract was awarded to TEACH.org (TEACH), which the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) determined is “uniquely capable of delivering all required services” outlined in the 2025 Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act.

Initially, MSDE believed it would take multiple contractors to execute the recruitment campaign, which will include supporting individuals who are interested in becoming teachers in the state and providing statewide marketing and advertising to promote the teaching profession.

MSDE estimates using multiple contractors would have cost the state anywhere from $8.6 million to $15.8 million, noting the $2.8 million contractor with TEACH will result in unforeseen savings for Maryland.

Gov. Wes Moore says the recruitment campaign will build upon the 2023 Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act, which required MSDE to set specific teacher recruitment and retention goals.

“The Maryland Department of Education has been trying to implement a full, comprehensive statewide teacher recruitment campaign to both aspiring teachers and also encouraging licensed teachers from other states to leave other states, like Florida, and come to the state of Maryland,” Moore said during Wednesday’s BPW meeting.

Maryland has been successful in lowering educator attrition and vacancy rates in the past two years after watching those numbers soar during the 2022-2023 school year post-COVID-19.

Vacant teaching positions decreased by 17 percent last school year, leaving around 1,619 unfilled positions.

The campaign will join various other educator retention and recruitment tactics implemented by the state in recent years, including a minimum teacher salary of $60,000 beginning July 1, 2026.

“It really is our whole goal to be able to build the best educator workforce inside the nation. Because when we uplift our educators, we know that not just the students will win, but Maryland is going to win as well,” Moore said.

The contract with TEACH will last until June 30, 2029, unless their services are deemed to be completed at an earlier date.