This article is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage.
Heading into the new school year, Howard County Public Schools Superintendent William J. Barnes spoke with WTOP about the challenges and triumphs ahead for the school system.
What are you most looking forward to during the upcoming 2026-27 academic year?
Barnes: We are excitedly anticipating the return of students and educators and embarking on a productive year with higher attendance, greater achievement and reduced disparities in student outcomes. We look forward to our full community working hard collectively on behalf of students to ensure every child in Howard County ultimately reaches high school graduation with their dreams intact.
What is the biggest challenge your school district is facing during the upcoming 2026-27 academic year?
Barnes: We continue to work with great urgency on behalf of students for whom we are not yet a great school system. As successful as the Howard County Public Schools system is often considered, our primary focus is on the students who are not achieving at the high rates of many of their peers, expanding strategies to help them overcome barriers they face. While our student proficiency data has improved in recent years, we are hungry for a significant reduction in the number of students who are struggling. This requires partnership between educators, families and community support. Reducing absenteeism, increasing engagement, fortifying physical and mental health supports, continuing the expansion of special education programming, and cultivating a healthy and safe environment in which students want to be is incumbent upon every person in Howard County.
What impact, if any, do you expect federal funding cuts to have on your school system for the upcoming 2026-27 school year?
Barnes: Any dollar lost has an impact on the structures built to instruct and support students. We are a resilient community and will continue to find ways to overcome challenges we endure.
What role will technology, including AI, play in learning for your teachers and students during the 2026-27 school year?
Barnes: AI is a technology tool that is not going away. Like anything that is present in our world, our primary responsibility is to instruct students and staff on the ways we may be able to leverage AI in healthy, productive and responsible ways. AI can’t serve as a replacement for thoughtful dialogue, collaborative engagement, individualized learning and support solutions for students. It can, however, expand learning opportunities the way the internet did not that long ago.
