A Frederick teacher has been awarded the 2026 Maryland Teacher of the Year title by the Maryland State Department of Education. ALonna Soward-Puryear, a targeted intervention teacher at Monocacy Elementary School in Frederick, was given the award at the 35th Annual Teacher of the Year Gala on Friday, Sept. 26.
This is a momentous occasion not only for Soward-Puryear herself, but for Frederick County Public Schools as a whole—Soward-Puryear’s win marks the first time in 15 years that a FCPS educator has received this award. The last Frederick-based recipient was chemistry teacher Michelle Shearer, who won the award in 2011 and was later selected as National Teacher of the Year. Previously, Linganore High School teacher Darren Hornbeck was the first Frederick County educator to win the award in 2003.
“We are thrilled to be the home of the 2026 Maryland Teacher of the Year,” said FCPS Superintendent Dr. Cheryl L. Dyson. “Ms. Soward-Puryear is a passionate and innovative teacher who is truly home grown. She attended FCPS, she interned with FCPS and graduated from Hood College in Frederick.”
Soward-Puryear has been a teacher at Monocacy Elementary School since 2019, previously teaching fourth grade before becoming a targeted intervention teacher. She has also been a member of the school’s School Improvement Team, STEM Team and Systemic Blueprint Team.
“When [Soward-Puryear] was a student at West Frederick Middle School, I watched [her] advocate for, cheer for and be a bright light for [her] peers,” said FCPS Associate Superintendent of Public Affairs Dr. Eric Louérs-Phillips in a congratulatory video put together by Soward-Puryear’s colleagues and students. “So it’s not surprising to see [her] doing the same thing for our students today. We’re thankful that [she’s] part of the FCPS team.”
Because of her new title, Soward-Puryear will be a speaker, advisor and participant in events hosted by the National Teacher of the Year Program, and will compete for the National Teacher of the Year title in spring 2026. She will be a speaker at the 2025 MSEA (Maryland State Education Association) Convention in Ocean City on Oct. 17 and 18, and will be joining the 49 other National Teacher of the Year candidates at a Google-hosted conference in February 2026.
“I feel so very honored, but it’s a reminder that there’s still more work to do,” Soward-Puryear said in an interview with Frederick’s Child. “There’s still so many kids we have to help grow and educate. I’m looking forward to the impact I can have on all of our Maryland students, the work that’s ahead and being able to learn and grow more as an educator.”
