Dear Cynwyd Staff/Families,

I’m writing to let you know that Principal Dr. Dan Martino is taking a leave of absence, which began this week.

I’m pleased to share that Lynne Partridge, recently retired assistant principal at Penn Wynne Elementary School, has agreed to come back to the District to serve as Cynwyd’s principal on an interim basis during Dr. Martino’s leave.

Ms. Partridge began her LMSD career at Cynwyd in 1993, as a fourth and fifth grade teacher. She went on to become the Gifted Support teacher at Belmont Hills, before taking on assistant principal duties at Merion, Penn Valley and then Penn Wynne. Her extensive experience with and knowledge of our elementary schools and District makes her uniquely qualified to step into this interim role.

Ms. Partridge was a founding member of the CARE, the Committee to Address Race in Education, was integral in the development of the CP4Kids curriculum currently in use at all six of our elementary schools, has led colleagues in multiple areas of staff development and served on the steering committee that developed LMSD’s Strategic Plan, All Forward. 

Ms. Partridge earned both her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s degree in Reading, Writing and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds multiple professional certificates and has completed extensive doctoral level coursework.

I am grateful to Dr. Dorie Martin-Pitone, LMSD’s Supervisor of Elementary Humanities and Federal Programs, who filled in for Dr. Martino this week. She and other administrators will continue to support Ms. Partridge and the Cynwyd staff.

Yours truly,

Megan E. Shafer
Acting Superintendent