Dr. Monique Felder is expected to be appointed Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) interim superintendent Tuesday following last week’s resignation of Dr. Monifa McKnight.
She is expected to be approved by the Board of Education (BOE) during its Tuesday meeting.
In a BOE statement, members noted, “the Board wants to make it clear that they are aware of a prior investigation into the financial disclosure reporting of an honorarium received by Dr. Felder from an educational consulting company in 2019. The Board has reviewed the findings and is confident that the findings were unsubstantiated as the report concluded. 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.”
According to a press release from MCPS, Felder has 32 years of experience in public education and was superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in North Carolina. She previously worked for MCPS.
According to an article in Indy Week dated March 8, 2023, Felder was hired in 2019, had her contract extended and received a $10,000 bonus for outstanding performance.
Her most recent contract ran through June 2025. However, in early 2023, the school board denied a contract extension and she eventually stepped down.
According to The News of Orange County last summer, “Orange County Schools Superintendent Dr. Monique Felder has announced that she and the district will part ways effective August 2, after leading the district for nearly four school years.”
Most recently, Dr. Felder has been coaching and mentoring principals and assistant principals in New Jersey and working with forward-thinking superintendents in North Carolina on identifying and implementing innovative programs.
Felder previously worked for MCPS as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. She also was the district’s interventions network director.
“Dr. Felder has a long and successful career in public education, and is already familiar with MCPS,” said BOE President Karla Silvestre in a news release.
“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,” Silvestre wrote.
The announcement of Felder as an interim principal came only three days after McKnight left. At that time, the BOE stated there would be a national search for her replacement and that an interim superintendent would be named Feb. 6.
While with MCPS, Felder was recognized with the International Reading Association’s Award for Exemplary Reading Programs in the state of Maryland, and as a finalist for the Washington Post’s Outstanding Leadership Award, according to MCPS.
She served as the director and supervisor of Accelerated and Enriched Instruction for MCPS for 6 years and director of the Interventions Network for one year before moving to Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD) as the Executive Director for Teaching and Learning.
Felder, a native of New York, served as Chief Academic Officer for Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee.
Felder 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, where she studied the effective leadership behaviors and practices of principals in elementary schools serving predominantly students of color.
She pursued post-doctoral studies at McDaniel College earning an advanced certificate in Equity and Excellence in Education and is co-author of the book Increasing Diversity in Gifted Education: Research Based Strategies for Identification and Program Services.
In 2022, she was selected as a collaborating author of STEM Century: It Takes a Village to Raise a 21st Century Graduate, with a chapter entitled: “You Can’t Be What You Can’t See: Increasing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Diversity in STEM-Careers.”
BOE members are expected to appoint Felder during its 11 a.m. meeting Tuesday. The meeting can be viewed live via https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/. Meetings are also cablecast live on Comcast Channel 34, Verizon FIOS Channel 36, and RCN Channel 89, and are rebroadcast at 1 p.m. on the Saturday and Sunday following the meeting.
