Mr. James Allrich - MCAAP President 2026
Following 25 years of dedicated service as an educator for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), James is proudly stepping into his new role as President of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP). Throughout his distinguished career, James has remained deeply committed to building strong community relationships, fostering collaborative cultures, and advancing equitable access to exceptional teaching and learning environments. Allrich was drawn to school leadership by the growing impact of his work; and leads through the lens of a reflective teacher and lifetime learner.
He began his career as an educator in New Jersey, teaching high school mathematics where he started learning about how to use technology to leverage learning and access for students. His career includes roles as a math teacher, math resource teacher, staff development teacher and assistant school administrator at Springbrook High School; assistant principal at White Oak Middle School and principal intern at Sherwood High School. He has served at Argyle for the past 11 years and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Bowie State University.
Mr. Allrich exhibits his core values of Respect, Excellence and Authenticity through his relationships and daily interactions throughout the educational community. He uses technology to make those values come alive. Whether it is through the "President's Corner" a weekly video message, email, newsletter, phone messages, or his community partnerships; he is dedicated in creating innovative experiences. He continues to create engagement and learning opportunities which remain a core value and center of his leadership mission.
Mr. Allrich is very focused on building the capacity of the next generation of administrators, participating in the Future Administrators Workshop since 2016 as well as being an Assistant Principal developer, assistant principal coach and supporting other principals with the use of technology. He delivers professional learning experiences to his colleagues by conducting training sessions for administrators. More recently he led the workshop, "Climate, Culture and Community: Cultivating an environment of resilience and positivity." He has led many tech workshops for administrators and has sent many "How-to" documents to his principal colleagues to model the use of new technology tools, specifically during this time of distance learning. Mr. Allrich also serves as a member of the advisory group to the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) where he provides feedback on new district-wide technology and implementation strategies. He was the co-chair of the African American Student Achievement Action Group which provides a forum between African American stakeholders and Montgomery County Public Schools to work collaboratively on eliminating the African American opportunity gap.
Most recently, James served as Vice President of the Middle School Chapter and as a member of the MCAAP Board of Directors. His leadership has also extended to the national level through his service on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
James has been widely recognized for his excellence in educational leadership. His dedication to equity, excellence and innovative use of technology was highlighted when he was named Montgomery County Public School ESOL Principal of the Year in 2019, Maryland Middle School Principal of the Year in 2023 and the Dr. Edward Shirley Award for Excellence in Administration and Supervision in 2024. He was also named a finalist for The Washington Post Principal of the Year in 2023 and the Excellence in Education Award in 2025.
