Principal

Dear Wyncote Families,

Welcome to Wyncote Elementary School! I am so delighted that you have found your way to our landing page and I invite you to take some time to explore our website. You will undoubtedly discover what a special place Wyncote is for children, families, teachers and staff.

Mr. Fred Rogers, founder of the fictional Neighborhood, was an amazing educator in his own right. His work inspires me every single day. He famously said, "Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else," emphasizing that endings can be new beginnings. This idea is central to understanding his perspective on life's transitions, which he viewed as opportunities for growth and change.

As we prepare to welcome the 2025-2026 school year, we are clearly at the beginning of “something else” at Wyncote, an extraordinary opportunity for growth and change. We will welcome a new group of young learners into our kindergarten cohort and as a former kindergarten teacher, I can’t wait to have them become part of our school community. With the closure of Elkins Park Intermediate School, our neighborhood is also growing this year, as we welcome fifth graders to our building. Along with these students, we will welcome several new
staff members and teachers. I am so excited to see how we will seize this opportunity to grow and change together.

As I begin my second decade of work in this district, I am honored to serve our community and support the vision and mission of Wyncote Elementary. As principal of this fully inclusive school, every child matters and we hold high expectations for learning and behavior for every
child. Along with our faculty and staff, I believe relationships matter and are the foundation for our collective work. The extraordinary faculty and staff provide high-quality, data-driven instruction to all students. I always look forward to my time in classrooms, on the playground, in the cafeteria, or around the neighborhood connecting with our amazing students (and their families). They are the primary reason we are all here.

In addition to ensuring continuity of instruction and learning, I collaborate with our faculty and staff to address our students’ social and emotional needs. We all live with stress and anxiety. We address those needs in our young learners as well. As part of our PBIS practice, Wyncote ROARS with positive behavior. We respect others, own our actions, accept responsibility, rise to the challenge and spread kindness. All of our conversations and daily experiences are grounded in kindness and respect. For the third consecutive year, Wyncote was recognized by the PaPBS Network for fidelity in implementing supports for all students.

Last year, 85% of our students had
zero or one behavior referral. I recognize that some of our students need an additional layer of support to make positive choices and we are actively building our Tier 2 Intervention system this year. This is another opportunity for our community to grow and change together. Wyncote Elementary has a rich history of active parent/guardian support for our programs.

Through the efforts of our dedicated PTO, we provide assemblies, occasional field trips and grants to teachers to support innovative work in the classroom and community building activities. I hope you will consider lending your support to the PTO as the group supports the building vision and focus of “children first.” 

Thank you for entrusting your greatest treasure, your child, to our care at Wyncote. As my great hero Fred Rogers reminds me, “Anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero.” Wyncote Elementary School is full of heroes. Welcome to our neighborhood, to this new beginning and to another great year of teaching and learning at Wyncote Elementary School! 

Sincerely,
Mr. Jim Taylor
Principal