Years in MNSD: 4
Years in Education: 23
Experience: Mrs. Jaime Smyth’s strives to find ways to create educational fun, inclusion, and equity: you may find her taped to a wall, giving out book vending-machine tokens, or participating in an obstacle course with her students-- but always for a good cause. Mrs. Smyth earned a Masters in Education from Temple University and is also a graduate of Cabrini University for Educational Leadership. She taught elementary school in Kensington, Philadelphia for about 16 years. Despite the many challenges, Mrs. Smyth absolutely loved her time in the city; one of her proudest accomplishments is helping the school to create over 50 partnerships that supported the students and their families. Through these partnerships, the school was able to provide dental and eye care, school supplies, coats, dance classes, and a beautiful new playground. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Smyth served the district as an elementary school-based teacher leader and as a high school assistant principal. Mrs. Smyth grew up in Delaware County and Southern California and is happily married to a school principal, Al. They have a son, Alden, who loves to build and program robots, study engineering, and play the trumpet. They have an adorable Maltipoo named Roxie. Together, they love to travel, go kayaking, and attend Alden’s robotics competitions.
Loomis Elementary School is the winner of this year’s MNSD Youth Night! Youth Night was created to positively promote community-building by allowing families from all four elementary schools to gather and cheer for the football team, cheerleaders, and marching band. The elementary school with the most students in attendance wins a giant trophy and bragging rights for the school year. Congratulations to Loomis Elementary School!!
Ivan Byju, a 12th grader at Marple Newtown High School, is among the highest-achieving students in the country. Case in point, he was recently named a National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist after "demonstrating an outstanding academic record, being endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earning PSAT scores [including a perfect Math score] that confirm his qualifying test performance." According to his College and Career Access Counselor, Mrs. Jennifer Cipollone, Byju has not taken this process lightly. "He has an extensive resume, has high academic achievement, and is respected by the faculty," Cipollone said. "Three words I would use to describe Ivan are: honest, responsible, and ambitious." By the conclusion of the competition, a select group of Finalists-- representing fewer than 1% of the initial pool of student entrants-- are chosen to receive the prestigious National Merit Scholarships. MNSD congratulates Ivan on his continued success!
Years in MNSD: 27
Years in Education: 27
Experience: Currently serving in his fifth year as the principal of Marple Newtown High School, Mr. John Beltrante began his career in MNSD as the district’s first Alternative School Program teacher in 1996 after a brief stint as a long-term substitute social studies teacher. He eventually joined the MNHS social studies department, where he taught United States History from 1997 through 2003. Midway through the 2003-04 school year, Mr. Beltrante was selected as the assistant principal of Paxon Hollow Middle School. In January of 2009, he joined the MNHS administrative team as an assistant principal and served in that capacity for the next five years. Following that experience, Mr. Beltrante happily served as the principal of Worrall Elementary School for the next five years. In the fall of 2018, Mr. Beltrante once again returned to MNHS...this time assuming the role of principal and rejoining many members of his staff that were there when his career began. Over the years, Mr. Beltrante has had the pleasure to coach football at the high school and youth program level. He has also coached youth baseball for many years and concluded his coaching career when his children went to high school. Mr. Beltrante makes the most of his time watching his five children participate in their sports and has become comfortable with his role as a spectator.
Mr. Christian Jaspersen
Years in MNSD: 20
Years in Education: 22
Experience: Serving as assistant principal, Mr. Christian Jaspersen works with a variety of student populations including learning and emotional support, alternative, gifted, and general education. He holds a BA in Secondary Education with a concentration in English and an MA in Educational Leadership with a concentration in special education. “Developing a positive rapport with students, parents, and alumni during my professional tenure has always been and will continue to be a constant goal. The positive reputation of this school district continues to grow, which makes me even more proud to lead the orange and black.”
Mrs. Stefanie McDevitt
Years in MNSD: 1
Years in Education: 14
Experience: This is Mrs. McDevitt’s 7th year as an administrator and first full year at Marple Newtown High School. She oversees a variety of areas including English/Reading, Library, VPA, Student Services Counselors, Tiger Guides, and clubs. Mrs. McDevitt decided to pursue a career in education because of her mother’s influence, who was a music teacher, and the outstanding teachers who taught her in Upper Darby School District. Mrs. McDevitt received her bachelor’s degree in education from West Chester University and received her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from St. Joseph’s University. Prior to transitioning to Marple Newtown High School, Mrs. McDevitt worked in Southeast Delco School District for 13 years. She was an administrator at both the elementary/middle school level as well as at Academy Park High School. Before becoming an administrator, Mrs. McDevitt was a mathematics teacher and lead teacher at Academy Park High School. She was also involved in planning graduation, running district programs, and monitoring a technology and game-based grant. Mrs. McDevitt is excited to become a Tiger and looks forward to getting to know the community.
Mr. Donald Tabar
Years in MNSD: 13
Years in Education: 28
Experience: Mr. Tabar is a graduate of Shippensburg University and is beginning his 10th year as an assistant principal at Marple Newtown High School. He oversees the Math, World Language, and Health/Physical Education departments. Before moving to the area, Mr. Tabar was a high school science teacher and an NCAA wresting head coach in southcentral PA. In addition to being a proud member of the MNSD family, Mr. Tabar is a Senior Enlisted Leader in the PA National Guard. He has 25 years of active service and counting. In his spare time, Mr. Tabar enjoys time with his family, spending time on the beach, physical fitness, and golfing. His favorite guiding quote comes from Theodore Roosevelt, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Worrall Elementary School kicked off their yearly Character Education Program with a fun assembly. Students were introduced to this year’s theme of “Be bold, be bright, be the light” and enjoyed some cheering by their classmates, teacher skits, and songs in a whole-school assembly. The first character focus trait is “purpose,” and students were invited to participate in a special Principal’s Challenge by sharing what purpose they were setting for this year with Dr. Sturdivant for her to read on the daily announcements. The other character traits that will be included in this year’s theme are appreciation, curiosity, and connection. Worrall students are the lights that guide us all!
Years in MNSD: 5
Years in Education: 24
Experience: A graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Stephanie Sturdivant’s teaching career began in North Carolina and continued in Pennsylvania, where she worked at Lower Merion School District and Radnor School District as a high school English teacher and Graduation Project Coordinator. While at Radnor, Dr. Sturdivant earned her Master’s of Education, Principal K-12 Certificate, and Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction Certificate at Widener University, and had her Graduation Project Curriculum she created submitted to The Pennsylvania Department of Education as an exemplar. Dr. Sturdivant loved being a teacher, but she also became interested in serving children, teachers, and families in an administrative capacity. She pursued this new pathway beginning in 2011, when she became an Assistant Principal with Phoenixville Area School District, serving at both the high school and elementary school levels. She then served as an elementary principal in the Coatesville Area School District prior to her position with MNSD. Dr. Sturdivant recently completed her Doctorate of Education at Saint Joseph’s University; her dissertation research focused on positive school climate and the importance of parent involvement. When not at work, Dr. Sturdivant enjoys hiking and visiting new places with her husband, Jim, her two children, Maxwell and Eva, and their dog Kirby (the cats have to stay at home!).
Years in MNSD: 21
Years in Education: 21
Experience: This is Dr. Gretchen’s fourth year serving as the principal at Paxon Hollow Middle School. Dr. G., as his students call him, knew he wanted to be a teacher from an early age after spending time with his mother, Susan, who was a CCD teacher. He started his career at Culbertson Elementary School, where he was a student teacher in Paula Pearson’s first grade classroom. The following year, Dr. G accepted a position at Paxon Hollow Middle School where he taught math and business education; he would go on to serve as the dean of students and assistant principal before assuming the role of principal at Loomis Elementary School. After two remarkable years at Loomis, Dr. G. returned to Paxon Hollow Middle School as principal. When Dr. G is not at Paxon Hollow, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Katie, and his son, Teddy.
Ms. Angela Barone
Years in MNSD: 1
Years in Education: 14
Experience: Ms. Barone is very excited to be a part of the MNSD community and to help students grow into responsible and contributing citizens. After switching careers as an audio engineer in 2008, Ms. Barone began her teaching career as a special education and English teacher at Chichester High School. Ms. Barone’s passion for school leadership led her to pursue school administration: she accepted a position as the dean of students at Chichester Middle School in 2017 and was then promoted to assistant principal. As assistant principal, Ms. Barone supervised the ELA Department, Emotional Support Program, Junior National Honor Society, PBIS program, and much more. Ms. Barone enjoys hiking, traveling, playing and watching sports, and spending time with friends and family.
Mr. Daniel Keehn
Years in MNSD: 4
Years in Education: 13
Experience: Mr. Keehn is a proud alum of the Marple Newtown School District and is thrilled to be back in the community. This is Mr. Keehn’s fourth year at Paxon Hollow Middle School-- he was hired as the Dean of Students in 2019 and is now serving as Assistant Principal. Mr. Keehn's teaching career began in 2009 at Penn Wood High School in the William Penn School District. In 2014, Mr. Keehn was hired as a Health and Physical Education teacher at Archbishop Carroll. After several years in the classroom, he assumed the role of Assistant Principal for Student Services. While at Carroll, Mr. Keehn also coached girls’ soccer, baseball, and ice hockey. Mr. Keehn and his wife (Melissa) have two young children: a son, Cameron, and daughter, Kayleigh.
Years in MNSD: 9
Years in Education: 19
Experience: Mr. James Wigo spent five years in the life insurance business prior to entering the field of education. During his time in the insurance business, Mr. Wigo began coaching kids in the neighborhood in both baseball and football-- this experience led him to pursue a career in education. Mr. Wigo began his teaching career in the Upper Darby School District; his first teaching position was at Beverly Hills Middle School, where he continued his love of teaching and coaching. After several years in the classroom, Mr. Wigo was chosen as the principal of Primos Elementary School in the Upper Darby School District. After serving the Primos community for three years, Mr. Wigo was named the principal of Culbertson Elementary. In addition to being an MNSD employee, Mr. Wigo, his wife (Linda), and two sons (Jimmy and Kevin) are all residents in the MNSD community. In fact, Linda has been a teacher and counselor at Paxon Hollow Middle School for the past 25 years. Mr. Wigo’s sons both attended Loomis Elementary School and Paxon Hollow Middle School. His oldest son, Jimmy, is a 2022 graduate of MNHS and Kevin is currently in 8th grade at Paxon Hollow Middle School. Mr. Wigo has been very active in the MNSD community by serving on the South Marple Little League board as well as assisting with the Broomall Newtown Baseball organization. When Mr. Wigo is not working, he enjoys spending time at the beach with his family.
Years in MNSD: 21
Years in Education: 28
Experience: This is Mr. Reardon’s 8th year as principal at Russell Elementary School. Prior to becoming an educator, Mr. Reardon began coaching baseball and basketball; it was these interactions with children that led him to a career in education. His teaching career began in 1995 at Beverly Hills Middle School in the Upper Darby School District, where he served as a 6th grade teacher and coach (basketball and baseball). In 2003, he accepted a teaching position at Paxon Hollow Middle School and later served as the school’s dean of students and athletic director. During this time, Mr. Reardon organized the first Potter Cup, which has since raised over $500,000 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. After five years at Paxon Hollow, Mr. Reardon became assistant principal and athletic director at Marple Newtown High School, where he served for eight years before joining Russell Elementary School. When not coaching baseball, Mr. Reardon enjoys spending time with his wife, Kim (who teaches at Loomis), his two boys, DJ and Chase (who both attend The University of Tampa), and his dog, Phoenix.
During a recent "Family Brain Night", MNSD families explored current research about the brain and learning. The session was facilitated by Julia Skolnik, MSEd, Chief Learning Officer and Founder of Professional Learning Partnerships (PLP). MNSD is partnering with Julia and PLP throughout the 2022-2023 school year to deepen teachers' and administrators' understanding of the brain, learning, and leadership, and apply key ideas from current research to improve teaching and learning across our schools. Learn more at www.learningpartnerships.org.
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