Executive Summary

Queen Anne's County Public Schools (QACPS) shows a mixed picture of Blueprint implementation. Two pillars are rated Meets (Pillars 2 and 3), two are Approaching (Pillars 1 and 5), and one does not yet meet expectations (Pillar 4). Teacher retention reached 80.3% in 2025-2026, above the 79% target and up from 76.3%, and National Board Certification initial achievers grew from 0 to 10.^[1] Total Pre-K enrollment grew from 134 in 2022-23 to a peak of 269 in 2024-25, with 236 in 2025-26.^[1] Chronic absenteeism across all schools fell from 31.0% in 2021-2022 to 22.4% in 2024-2025.^[1]

Academic outcomes and resource alignment remain the district's central challenges. Grades 3-8 ELA proficiency stands at 55.3% (down from 58.1% in 2021-22), and 3rd grade ELA proficiency is 49.2% (down from 56.1%).^[1] Grade 3 ELA proficiency for students with disabilities fell from 24.2% to 20.0%.^[1] Community schools reduced chronic absenteeism to 16.8%, but their 3-8 ELA and math proficiency (28.2% and 23.6%) remain well below district levels.^[1] The district has built Tiered Instructional Matrices with a six-week MTSS cadence and expanded dual enrollment from 153 to 317 students.^[2]

On governance, the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) approved all seven 2024 plan components on November 21, 2024, and approved the FY26 release of funds in December 2025 with a notice letter on three areas of concern.^[1] None of the FY25 expenditures were coded at the school level in four Minimum School Funding programs, and 5 of 8 programs were budgeted to meet Minimum School Funding in FY26.^[1] A new CFO has restructured accounting codes to align spending with statutory programs, a key step toward transparency as the district works through its AIB-required root cause analyses and action plans.^[3]