National Outstanding Assistant Principals Named!

Congratulations to Briana Walker (elementary level) and Dr. Rhoda Nunez-Donnelly (middle level), who were recently recognized as Maryland's National Outstanding Assistant Principals for 2026. Briana and Rhoda are shining examples of all the hardworking assistant principals who support our schools every day. Their nominators strongly praised their impact on their school communities. Ms. Walker (Greensboro Elementary) and Dr. Nunez-Donnelly (Murray Hill Middle) were celebrated at our Assistant Principal and Aspiring Leader Conference on February 24th. They will be recognized in July at the NAESP Conference in Orlando. Additionally, they will receive free hotel stays and conference registration for our fall conference in Ocean City. We are SO proud of them!

Thanks AP Conference Presenters!

Thanks to our MAESP members who presented breakout sessions at the AP Conference last week. They were fantastic!

Justin Holbrook

Arienne Clark-Harrison

Dr. Tangela Scales

Diedra Barnett

Dr. Ryan Daniel

Shayla Walker

Principal Magazine Contributors

Congratulations to Dr. Tangela Scales and Dr. Patricia J. Wells-Frazier for their contributions to the January/February edition of Principal Magazine. Dr. Scales' article, "Help Black Boys Belong," shared strategies that schools can use to help black boys feel they belong. Her article noted that when teachers and leaders are coached using an equity lens, school culture and climate are strengthened. Dr. Wells- Frazier was featured in the "Book Talk" section where she reviewed the book Leverage Leadership 2.0. She felt that the book offers clear and actionable systems for improving teaching and learning.

Great job, Dr. Scales and Dr. Wells-Frazier! You make Maryland look good!

NSLAC Conference

NAESP hosted their annual National School Leaders Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC from February 8 - 11. Our Maryland delegation, led by our president, Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket, stood out throughout the conference. Ed Cosentino gave a great VP candidate speech on the opening day. On the second day, Tracy Hilliard led a session titled, "Students as Advocates: A Powerful Lever for School Improvement" that truly inspired many attendees to explore starting their own student councils. Dr. Ryan Daniel continued her efforts as a member of the NAESP board of directors and shared several updates on what is happening at the national level. Our NAESP rep and Federal Relations Chair, Sue Myers, did a great job scheduling visits to Capitol Hill. We met with several senators and representatives to discuss the need for school nurses, counselors, and funding to support the growth and development of school leaders. Justin Holbrook, Glen Messier and our entire delegation did a great job articulating the challenges school leaders face while also encouraging our representatives to pass meaningful legislation to meet the needs of our schools and communities. In addition, EducationWeek writer, Olina Banerji, wrote an article on our advocacy efforts that included several insightful quotes from Dr. Edoho-Eket. Our members can rest assured that Maryland continues to have a strong impact at the local and national level.

MAESP Elections

We are fortunate to have 3 great candidates for our open positions this year. Thanks to Dr. Joshua Fine and his nominations committee for their work. Our candidates for president-elect are Dr. Raegon Clutz, Jr. from Pangborn Elementary in Washington County and Dr. Sharon Porter from Allenwood Elementary in Prince George's County. Our candidate for NAESP rep is Tracy Hilliard from Urbana Elementary in Frederick County. Please be sure to vote when you receive your email this week!

Click here to see their detailed bios

Congrats to us!

On February 8th, during the NSLAC conference, MAESP received the NAESP award for the 2nd highest increase in membership across the country. This award reflects the efforts of our board of directors and executive board over the past few years to engage colleagues across the state. MAESP is THE premier school leadership organization in Maryland and our growing membership numbers illustrate how important our work is. A special thanks goes to Blaine Hawley, our membership coordinator, who has done a great job making sure our customer service is top notch! Most of all, we are thankful for our members who recognize and value our mission to provide service, support, and advocacy on their behalf. Membership matters, let's keep growing!

In 2026, MAESP is celebrating 80 years as Maryland's premier school leadership organization!

Did you know?

In 1946 we were called the Maryland Department of Elementary School Principals
From 1976 - 1994 we were known as MAESA, the Maryland Association of Elementary School Administrators
In 1994 we officially became MAESP
Our first president in 1946 was Anna Rose
Current Maryland State Superintendent, Dr. Carey Wright, was an active member of MAESA/MAESP in the 1980's and 90's serving as the Howard County rep, the Public Relations committee chair, the Legislative committee chair, and as secretary

Upcoming Events

March 4th 7:00 PM

Zone 2 Chat

Hosted by Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket & Ashley Moore

March 18th 6:00 PM

CSL Speaker Series- PD for the Adult Learner

March 21st

Executive Board Meeting

MAESP Headquarters

April 13th 7:00 PM

Zone 3 Chat

Hosted by Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket & Dr. Sharon Porter

April 17th

Connected School Leader One-day Conference

The Meeting House

Columbia, Maryland

May 4th 7:00 PM

Zone 4 Chat

Hosted by Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket & Briana Walker

May 13th 6:00 PM

CSL Speaker Series- School Leader Lessons Learned

from Supporting Immigrant Families

May 23rd

Executive Board Meeting

Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle

June 24th

General Membership Meeting

2:00 - 3:00 PM

Virtual Only

July 13 - 15

NAESP National School Leaders Conference

Orlando, Florida

Membership Platform & Website

If you haven't created a MAESP member user login, please visit this link:

Info Hub Login

When you create a login, you open up the ability to edit your contact information, register for events, locate other members, refer new members, and access resources from MAESP, and NAESP. It's quick and easy, so please, do it today!

MSDE & Legislative Updates

Federal Funds Available to Serve Free Summer Meals for Youth

BALTIMORE (January 30, 2026) — The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is seeking public and private nonprofit organizations to participate in SUN Meals (formerly the Summer Food Service Program), a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides free, nutritious meals to children and teens in the summer months when school is not in session.

Organizations interested in becoming a sponsoring organization must apply by Wednesday, April 15 and those wishing to operate a SUN Meals site must apply by Monday, June 15.

Qualifying organizations may participate as SUN Meals sites, which serve meals to the community under a sponsoring organization, or as a sponsoring organization, which plan, coordinate and manage meal service at one or more summer meals sites.

In the summer of 2025, SUN Meals partners served more than 3.5 million meals to Maryland children and teens at over 1,400 sites. MSDE remains committed to addressing the needs of children statewide and closing the nutrition gap between school years.

“Families facing food insecurity can find the summer months especially challenging,” said Dr. Carey M. Wright, State Superintendent of Schools. “The SUN Meals and SUN Meals To-Go programs are intended to increase food security while children are out of school. From eating a meal at a meal site to receiving a meal box to take home, families in need can access nutritious food for their children all summer long.”

SUN Meals is a federally funded state-administered program that provides reimbursement to organizations that sponsor sites to serve nutritious meals to children in areas where at least 50 percent of households qualify for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program, or 50 percent of the children enrolled in a summer program qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Most organizations may be reimbursed for up to two meals or snacks per child per day. Camps and migrant programs may be reimbursed for up to three meals per child each day. All meals and snacks must meet federal nutrition standards.

SUN Meals are open to children and teens age 18 and under, and to individuals over 18 who have a mental or physical disability and participate in a public or private non-profit school during the school year.

For more information on applying to be a new sponsoring organization, contact the Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs at 410-767-0192 or scnpmailbox.msde@maryland.gov.

A BIG Thanks to our Business Partners!