Maryland MSDE · 232 Approved IRCs · CCL Playbook
A practical decision-support tool for OST leaders designing career-connected learning programs. Answer 5 questions to surface the right credentials for your program. Companion tool to the CCL Playbook →
Career-Connected Learning Playbook
A practical decision-support tool for Maryland OST educators and workforce partners — built to make finding, evaluating, and shortlisting Industry-Recognized Credentials faster and easier than ever.
The Career-Connected Learning Playbook: Apprenticeships & Credentials in Out-of-School Time is a comprehensive guide for OST educators, program leaders, employers, and community partners navigating the shift toward youth-centered workforce development.
Originally developed through a partnership between Dent Education and the Maryland Out of School Time (MOST) Network, with support from the Baltimore City Office of Information & Technology's Digital Equity Fund, the Playbook has grown into a field-wide resource supported by CareerBound and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The Playbook is organized into Foundations (shared understanding of why this work matters) and Plays (step-by-step guidance on selecting credentials, building partnerships, designing programs, and sustaining the work). Credential Compass is the interactive companion to Play 1: Selecting a Credential — turning the Playbook's scoring matrix into a live, searchable tool.
The Playbook
The full Playbook is your step-by-step guide to selecting credentials, building employer partnerships, designing equitable programs, and sustaining career-connected learning in OST settings. Credential Compass is its interactive companion for credential selection.
📖 Read the Playbook →Credential Compass was built by Dent Education and MOST Network as an interactive companion to the Career-Connected Learning Playbook. Data research was contributed by CareerBound, with funding support from CareerBound and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Credential data is sourced from the Maryland State Department of Education's official Approved IRC List.
Dent Education is a Baltimore-based nonprofit that partners with youth ages 14–24 to ignite their ability to shape the world around them. Founded in 2017, Dent runs earn-to-learn innovation programs where youth build entrepreneurial mindsets, social capital, and 21st-century tech skills — while earning income and making real-world impact.
Through Dent's flagship Bet on Baltimore program and a suite of after-school and year-round programs, youth leverage design thinking, 3D printing, AI tools, and product development to launch ventures and explore innovation careers. Since 2017, over 760 youth have earned more than $1,015,000 in 104,000+ program hours.
Dent's 2025–2027 Strategic Plan centers on integrating Industry-Recognized Credentials (IRCs) into its programs — directly supporting Maryland's goal of 45% of high school graduates earning an IRC or youth apprenticeship by 2030. Credential Compass is a key part of that strategy: a tool that helps OST leaders across Maryland make the same decisions Dent wrestles with every day.
Mission: Partner with Baltimore youth to ignite their ability to shape the world around them.
Vision: Catalyze youth to become leaders of a racially just and thriving innovation ecosystem in Baltimore.
Take the 5-question quiz and get your personalized ranked list in under 2 minutes.