On January 9, 2023, Pennsylvania Governor-elect Josh Shapiro announced that Lower Merion Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, is his choice to serve as the Commonwealth's next Secretary of Education.
After the announcement, Dr. Mumin shared the letter below with the community.
Following Dr. Mumin's letter, please see the additional information in a letter from Lucy Klain, President of the Lower Merion Board of School Directors.

Dear LMSD Community,

It is with mixed emotions I share with you that I will be leaving the Lower Merion School District to accept the position of Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During the past 15 months, I have grown to love Lower Merion, our inspiring students, exemplary staff, committed families and community members; however, Governor-elect Shapiro has offered me a unique and exciting opportunity to reshape educational policy and practices across the Commonwealth, so all Pennsylvania students can experience the level of educational excellence our students enjoy and that all students deserve. In regards to potential impact of the aforementioned, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Pending approval by our Board of School Directors, I expect to be sworn in as Acting Secretary of Education on January 17, 2023. As I assume my new role, I hope to ensure the continuation of the progress we are making in important areas such as the exploration of full-day kindergarten, healthy start times and finalizing field space for Black Rock Middle School. I will also work with the Lower Merion Board of School Directors and our highly qualified administrative team to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership.

Even after I take on my new position, you will likely continue to see me and hear from me. Lower Merion is a premier District, from which many others in our Commonwealth can learn. I will be reaching back to LMSD to provide successful models and expertise in areas such as guiding students to academic excellence; building Belonging by embracing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and providing opportunities for meaningful professional development, innovation and collaboration.

I want to thank everyone who welcomed me and supported me during my time in Lower Merion. Being a part of this community has been a dream come true. It is beyond what I could have imagined as a student who began at Philadelphia’s Olney High School to go to lead one of the most exceptional school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, if not the entire country. I will take the experiences I have gained here with me to Harrisburg with the hope of inspiring all children, scholars and academicians to infinite possibilities of success.

Sincerely,

Khalid N. Mumin, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

From Board President Klain: 

Dear LMSD Community,

As Dr. Mumin has shared, he will be leaving his current position as our Superintendent of Schools to become Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education in Governor-elect Shapiro’s administration. On behalf of the Lower Merion Board of School Directors, I congratulate Dr. Mumin on this exciting opportunity and compliment Governor-elect Shapiro on his excellent choice. While we are saddened to lose Dr. Mumin here in our District, we know that his energy and expertise will be beneficial to students across Pennsylvania.

Dr. Mumin will remain in LMSD until January 17, when he is expected to be sworn in as the state’s Acting Secretary of Education.  Our plan as a School Board is to appoint an experienced Administrator as interim superintendent for the remainder of this school year, and to conduct a search for new Superintendent whom we hope to have in place prior to September 2023.

As you may recall, the Board engaged a search firm with expertise in educational leadership during the recent search that brought Dr. Mumin to us. That search included multiple opportunities for stakeholder input to develop a profile of a leader best suited to serve LMSD. We will again provide opportunities for stakeholder input over the upcoming months, and will also revisit the valuable insights shared by our community members last time to inform our decisions going forward. We hope to be able to bring a final candidate forward for Board approval in late spring.

We will continue to share information about this process and opportunities for you to participate in the coming weeks and months. As always, please feel free to share your thoughts or questions with our Board members by emailing communitycomments@lmsd.org or by coming to Board or committee meetings and speaking during the Public Comment period. I look forward to your partnership in the process of finding another excellent educational leader for our students, staff and community.

Sincerely,

Lucy Klain
President, Lower Merion Board of School Directors