MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County Public Schools confirmed Dr. Monique Felder as its interim superintendent after mutually parting ways with Dr. Monifa McKnight last week.
The school district announced Friday that McKnight would no longer be superintendent of Maryland's largest school system. While no specific reason was given, the decision came after a months-long investigation into Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) which detailed years-long issues in the way the school system handles employee complaints – including sexual harassment accusations.
Just days later, the Montgomery County Board of Education confirmed Felder's interim appointment as superintendent at their meeting Tuesday.
Moments after her confirmation, Felder sent a letter to MCPS families introducing herself.
"It is with immense pleasure and a sense of coming home that I write to reintroduce myself as the Interim Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools," Felder wrote Tuesday. "To many of you, I am not a new face, but rather a returning one with a career spanning 32 years in education, deeply intertwined with the fabric of this incredible district.
The school district hailed Felder for her experience in education.
"Dr. Felder brings 32 years of experience in public education, including as superintendent for Orange County Public Schools in North Carolina, where she was nominated as regional superintendent of the year," a release from the school board reads.
Felder's resume also includes her experience as the Chief Academic Officer for Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN), executive director for Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD), and as a teacher, the Director of Accelerated and Enriched Instruction, and Director of the Interventions Network for MCPS.
“Dr. Felder has a long and successful career in public education, and is already familiar with MCPS,” said Karla Silvestre, President of the Board of Education. “We are confident that her background in district leadership, instruction and administration makes her the right person to carry us through this transition and begin the work to rebuild trust among staff and the community, while we identify the next permanent superintendent.”
Felder, a native of New York, holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from York College (NY), a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University (MD) with a specialization in elementary science and mathematics, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA), where she studied the effective leadership behaviors and practices of principals in elementary schools serving predominantly students of color.
The interim superintendent started her career with MCPS as a teacher, since then she has also been an assistant principal and principal. She was previously awarded with the International Reading Association’s Award for Exemplary Reading Programs in Maryland and was a finalist for the Washington Post’s Outstanding Leadership Award.
The Board acknowledged in the release announcing Felder's appointment that there was an investigation into the "financial disclosure reporting of an honorarium" received by Felder from an educational consulting company in 2019.
According to reporting by NewsChannel5 in Nashville, Felder failed to disclose money she received in 2017 until auditors asked about it. The station pointed to an audit of Metro Schools that claimed Felder had pocketed $4,000 from the Education Research and Development Institute, a trade group that pays school officials to speak with tech companies and provide feedback on products they hope to sell to those officials.
"The Board has reviewed the findings and is confident that the findings were unsubstantiated as the report concluded," the Montgomery County Board of Education release reads. "The Board is confident that Dr. Felder is a trustworthy, upstanding and highly respected educational leader who will be able to competently guide MCPS through this transition."
The Montgomery County Education Association said in a statement that it hopes "the turmoil in leadership is coming to an end" with the hiring of Felder.
"We welcome the return of Dr. Monique Felder to MCPS and wish her all the best as she becomes the acting superintendent.
Executive leadership’s top priority must be to establish a culture and climate where staff are free from fear of exploitation, harassment, and bullying, and create an environment where we feel valued and respected as the dedicated professionals we are. Many of the system’s problems have persisted for years and we remain ready to partner with MCPS to find real and durable solutions.
We hope that the turmoil in leadership is coming to an end, so that everyone’s sole focus can return to meeting the needs of our students. To do this, we not only need stability at the top, but we also must have a budget that prioritizes and fully funds those things that make the most positive impact on student success.
We’ve worked with Dr. Felder in the past and are optimistic that she will be the leader we need to bring us all together for the work that lies ahead."
The search is now on to find who will be the permanent superintendent.
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