Dear Cynwyd Elementary School Community,

At Monday night’s Education Committee/Supplementary Board Meeting, the Lower Merion Board of School Directors will vote on accepting Dr. Dan Martino’s resignation, effective at the end of June. I am grateful that Ms. Partridge will continue to lead Cynwyd through these final weeks of the current school year. At the same time, the Administration is looking ahead to hiring a new principal to be in place at Cynwyd for the start of the 2023-2024.

We will be searching for a new principal both internally, within LMSD, and also externally, by advertising the position in various forums, including our website, LinkedIn, PennLink, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Monster.com, University of Pennsylvania’s Delaware Valley Consortium for Equity and Excellence, Southeastern Educators of Color Network and more. We urge all interested and qualified educators to apply.

We also need your help. It is very important that your voices and priorities are reflected as candidates are considered. To help our administrative team understand what the Cynwyd community wants to see in its next leader, I am asking you to please take a few minutes to answer the questions in this survey in this survey, which will be open through Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY

Ms. Partridge will collaborate with staff to inform students about Dr. Martino’s resignation. Students will also be invited to share their thoughts about the future leader of Cynwyd during a classroom activity that will be collected, submitted and turned into a “Wordle.” Additional input opportunities for parents/guardians and staff will be included as the selection process moves forward.

We will review the survey results from students, families and staff to ensure that Cynwyd’s next leader not only reflects the values of the school community, but also is prepared to continue the school’s traditions of excellence moving forward.

Thank you in advance for your help in undertaking this very important task.

Sincerely,

Megan E. Shafer
Acting Superintendent