Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Additional options and cost estimates were presented Monday. Board members are expected to vote on expansion plans on Jan. 28.
No decisions about Lower Merion School District's $24 to $30 million school expansion project were made Monday night, but school board members heard additional options and cost estimates for permanent and temporary solutions to growing student enrollment at four district schools. "We're getting to the point where we're going to ask that some decisions be made soon," Superintendent Christopher McGinley told the board. District officials have targeted the school board's next meeting on Jan. 28 for voting on plans for permanent additions at Gladwyne and Penn Valley Elementary schools, interior and exterior modifications at Bala Cynwyd Middle School, as well as permanent modifications and temporary overcrowding solutions at Welsh Valley Middle…
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Do you prefer the new version or the old?
Lower Merion School District is days away from launching its redesigned website, according to an online announcement from the district. Until the launch, the address lmsd.org will continue to point to the familiar old version of the site. However, the new version can be previewed at https://new.lmsd.org/. Which version do you like better? Please tell us in the comments section below.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Videos depict a variety of curricula for students of all ages.
In late December, several videos were posted to a Lower Merion School District YouTube channel. The clips include interviews with teachers at the elementary, middle and high school levels, as well as with several reminiscing alumni. To post your own videos to Patch, click 'Start a Blog' on the homepage and start uploading within moments. What sorts of LMSD-related videos would you like to see posted to Patch or YouTube? Tell us in the comments.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The school board voted Monday night to advance a cheaper expansion plan for the district's largest K-5 enrollment.
The next generation of Lower Merion School District building expansions started small Monday night, as school board members unanimously endorsed the administration's pursuit of a Gladwyne Elementary renovation that will mean, at least, four new modular classrooms on campus next fall. The administration has for months set forth a more ambitious plan to expand no fewer than four of the district's 10 schools, at a cost approaching $30 million. The reason: an enrollment study that shows larger classes over the past couple years and a projection of continued growth, particularly in the Gladwyne and Penn Valley Elementary catchment areas. However, some residents and board members have balked at the scope and cost of that plan, in some cases …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The following letter was emailed to all Lower Merion School District families on Friday, Dec. 14.
- SCHOOLS
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Saturday, December 15, 2012
The following letter was emailed to all LMSD families and posted on the school district website on Friday afternoon. *** Dear Parents/Guardians, Our thoughts and prayers are with the community and families of Newtown, Connecticut as they deal with today’s unspeakable tragedy. There are simply no words to describe the emotions many of us are feeling right now and no explanation for how something like this could happen. This afternoon, we received several inquiries from parents regarding general safety and security procedures in our schools, a District response to this incident, and ways to address this tragedy with children. We hope to answer some of these questions in this letter and encourage you to refer to the links below for additional…
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Welsh Valley's expansion may be scaled down, and in 2013-14, the school could use St. Justin Martyr Church for classrooms.
Updated 12:30 p.m. to add additional information about capacity projections. About 30 residents attended a special Lower Merion Board of School Directors meeting on Monday night, at which Director of Operations Pat Guinnane and Superintendent Christopher McGinley presented updated plans for a proposed $29.4 million expansion for district schools. The most notable changes were scaled down plans for a Welsh Valley Middle School expansion and the suggestion that St. Justin Martyr Church be used for temporary classrooms in the coming school year. Guinnane also told the board that the original timelines for the $29.4 million expansion for district schools were "unrealistic," and presented a new timeline for construction at each of the four …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Administrators are recommending more than $29 million in renovations to four schools.
Lower Merion school administrators who visited the Gladwyne Civic Association Tuesday night heard skepticism about the population-growth projections that prompted their proposal for $29 million in school expansions. About 35 people came to Gladwyne Elementary School's auditorium to hear from LMSD Superintendent Chris McGinley, Gladwyne Principal Jim Johnson and other school officials, who will also visit several other neighborhoods in the next two months. The administrators explained that the past several years of growing enrollment, as well as projections for the next 10 years, convinced them they need to add classrooms to four of the district's 10 schools: Gladwyne and Penn Valley elementary schools, and both middle schools, Bala Cynwyd …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Rising enrollment could prompt changes in a few years.
Lower Merion school board members heard community survey results on Monday that indicated strong support for the current class-scheduling system for the two high schools but also concern over the need to account for growing enrollment. Former Harriton High School principal Steven Kline began the meeting with a presentation on the results of over 1,900 surveys from students, faculty and parents. The survey results displayed overwhelming support for the current hybrid model class schedule of high schools in Lower Merion school district, which includes five key features which were reviewed. The five key features of the schedule which were reviewed are: However, there are some areas of concern with the current schedule for the school board to …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Staff members at the top salary tier will get a 2.6 percent increase in Year 1, a 2.2 percent increase in Year 2, and a 1.4 percent increase in Year 3.
The Lower Merion School District Board of School Directors voted unanimously Monday night to approve a collective bargaining agreement with Lower Merion Education Association after months of negotiations. The current contract expired at the end of June, and since then, teachers and professional staff have been working under the terms of the previous agreement. The LMEA approved the contract agreement on Oct. 29. The new contract calls for a 0.25 percent salary increase for all faculty/staff except those at the top salary tier in Years 1 and 2, and no percentage increase in Year 3, according to Superintendent Christopher McGinley. Staff members at the top tier will get a 2.6 percent increase in Year 1, a 2.2 percent increase in Year 2, and …
Friday, November 2, 2012
Power is out at the high school.
UPDATE 8 p.m. Thursday: Lower Merion School District announced power had been restored to Cynwyd and Penn Valley elementary schools and to Bala Cynwyd Middle School, allowing them to open for classes on Friday. Earlier Thursday, the district had planned to close the schools, along with Harriton High School, on Friday. Harriton will remained closed, the district confirmed Thursday night; power has not been restored there. The district posted the following notice about 4 p.m. Thursday: The following schools will be OPEN and operating on a normal schedule tomorrow: Belmont Hills, Gladwyne, Lower Merion, Merion, Penn Wynne, Welsh Valley As of 4 PM, the following schools are CLOSED tomorrow: Bala Cynwyd, Cynwyd, Harriton, Penn Valley. If a …
Mariann Paolantonio
3:38 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
I absolutely agree more ›