Introducing our next principal: Damon Monteleone

On May 22, the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Education appointed Damon Monteleone, the associate superintendent of the MCPS Office of School Support and Well-Being, as Montgomery Blair’s next principal. On June 10, Monteleone met with staff and parents for a community meet-and-greet located in the Student Activity Center (SAC) within the school. During the event, he provided more information about himself, his professional experience, his core values, and his priorities as principal.

He began by describing his love for snowboarding, biking, football, baseball, reading, and politics. He mentioned that earlier in his life, he frequented poetry workshops and events due to his fondness for the art. In high school, he was president of a scientific book club.

Monteleone received a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and Teaching in 1994, before pursuing a Master of Education at Framingham State University in 2004. He worked as a teacher in a variety of MCPS schools, acting as a special educator at Paint Branch High School, where he worked with students with social-emotional needs. The role occasionally involved disruptive behavior and verbal threats — once, a student even threw a chair at him. 

Despite these challenges, Monteleone realized and held firm in his belief that every student, if treated with respect, could grow and fulfill their potential. “If you show students that you care, there’s no student that can’t be successful,” Monteleone said.

He then headed to Bethesda Chevy Chase (BCC) High School, where he taught a mix of social studies courses from AP World History: Modern to AP Government and Politics. From there, he travelled to Vienna, Austria, to teach for Fulbright, an international educational exchange program.

His love of travel once again took him outside of the United States when he taught at a school in the Dominican Republic. He returned to Maryland with an even broader global perspective to teach at Northwood High School before being appointed principal at Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) in Rockville.

Monteleone described his time as principal at RMHS as extremely successful. Under his leadership, he stated that the performance of students of all different demographic groups improved, and the school was generally well-run. In June of 2021, he received calls about the opportunity to work with the first Black female superintendent as Assistant Chief of Schools, and excitedly took up the job. Although he enjoyed the position, he realized that he missed the sense of connectedness he had experienced working directly in schools.

Monteleone became the associate superintendent of MCPS in July of 2022, primarily dealing with topics related to counseling and psychological services, social work, and student extracurriculars. When he was told that his position was going to be eliminated in November of 2024, and around the same time, found out that the position of principal of Blair was open, he decided he had to apply. “I have energy, I’m passionate about this work, I love it,” Monteleone said during the meet and greet.

For much of the meeting, Monteleone dove into issues of racial equity. He stressed that it is important for staff to be aware that many students are coming from families who have experienced the effects of discrimination, whether in the not-so-distant segregation policies of pre-Brown v. Board of Education America or current issues. He expressed that, while it is important to have high expectations for every student, this history must be kept in mind. Additionally, Monteleone shared his excitement to enter a space as diverse as Blair, where he believes that the interactions between students of all different backgrounds serve as a model for how the rest of the country should behave.

Monteleone acknowledged that there may be competing interests in the school’s decision-making process, with teachers, parents, and students all having different perspectives, but affirmed that the well-being of students should always be at the center of the discussion. “If we make decisions in the best interest of students, that should be our North Star,” he said.

He then highlighted the three pillars of his attitude toward leadership: engaging, understanding, and acting. To engage, he will listen, learn, and hear what is on everyone’s mind. To understand, he will look at what the data and anecdotes say, what the goals of all those involved are, where the school has been successful, and what the plan is. To act, he will implement school improvement plans, some of which have already been shared with the public, and include measures such as a normalized grading policy and increased professional development opportunities.

Above all, Monteleone emphasized that his main focus would be on making all students feel valued and respected. He wants to establish a sense of trust with the community he is entering by being predictable and communicative as the principal. “With an empowered community, you get continuous improvement,” he said.