Executive Summary

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) shows strong momentum across the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, with one pillar rated Exceeds, three rated Meets, and one rated Approaching. The Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) approved all MCPS components for the FY26 Release of Funds in December 2025, including the Career Ladder, Career Counseling MOU, Math Plan, and the Minimum School Funding good faith effort.^[1] The 2024 Blueprint Implementation Plan Parts I and II also met the AIB/MSDE Criteria for Success.^[2]

Pillar 2 is the county's strongest area. National Board Certification achievements rose from 17 in 2021-2022 to 271 in 2025-2026, the minimum teacher salary of $64,591 in SY26 exceeds the $60,000 Blueprint requirement, and teacher vacancies fell from 173 to 114.^[3] In Pillar 1, Pre-K enrollment grew from 1,799 to 2,896 between 2022-2023 and 2025-2026, and full-day conversion exceeded planned seat targets.^[3][4] Pillar 1 remains Approaching because of space constraints, paraeducator credentialing rates, and low kindergarten readiness for emergent multilingual and Hispanic/Latino students.^[3]

Academic indicators are mixed. Grades 3-8 math proficiency rose from 32.1% to 39.3% and ELA from 52.9% to 56.8% since 2021-22, but 3rd-grade ELA proficiency (56.9%) sits below its 58.7% baseline, and AIB issued a December 2025 notice requiring a root-cause analysis.^[3] Community schools grew from 19 to 53 between SY21-22 and SY24-25 (77 reported in 2025), and their chronic absenteeism fell from 37.1% to 26.5%, though it remains above the districtwide rate of 22.6%.^[3] Teacher retention (79.2%) remains below the 81.1% district target.^[3]