Spotlight

Cheltenham School District has tapped Ms. Ashley Pullum and Ms. Diane Rodriguez as the new supervisors of special education. Pullum will serve as supervisor for grades 5-8 and Rodriguez will fill the position of K-4 supervisor.

Ms. Pullum comes to Cheltenham with over 10 years of experience in special education. For the past year, Pullum served as the supervisor of special education at the Centennial School District. There, she supported general and special education personnel and students and supervised William Tennent High School’s special education department, as well as served as an LEA for out-of-district students.

Ms. Pullum earned her post-master's principal certification from Eastern University, her post-master's certification in applied behavioral analysis from George Mason University, and her master’s in education and B.A. in history from Temple University.

With a goal to lead with an equitable lens so that all students are provided with the necessary support and resources to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially, regardless of their background or abilities, Ms. Rodriguez comes to CSD from Philadelphia School District where she has served as special education network case manager since 2019.

There she worked with principals, special education liaisons, and teachers to connect the core curriculum; specially designed instruction, inclusive practices, and interventions to the academic goals of students’ Individualized Education Program (IEPs); and served as the key point of contact for stakeholders and provided leadership as it pertained to supporting special education initiatives, teaching and achievement.

Ms. Rodriguez received her education from Gwynedd Mercy University where she earned her master’s in educational leadership with principal certification, and La Salle University where she earned her master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages K-12, bachelor’s degree in elementary K-6 and special education K-12 with minors in leadership and global understanding and American studies.

For the first time since COVID 19, Wyncote Elementary hosted its Multicultural Night Monday with no less than 16 cultures from across the globe on full display. Food was a common theme among the tables, with sticky rice and rice crackers from Vietnam, pizzelle and taralli from Italy, jerk chicken and plantains from Jamaica, and lamb and couscous from Morocco among the items on the menu.

The CHS Asian Student Association attended and was offering dumplings and lessons in making origami. The Lenape Nation was present and exhibited arrow and spearheads and instruments. The Cheltenham Library System was in attendance and hosted a station to make African hand drums.

Concurrently, a program of culture and traditions was taking place, including a land acknowledgement and Lenape storytelling from Chief Barbra BlueJay, a ceremonial opening that included chants and singing from Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac, flamenco dancing, members of the CBK WildClefs singing songs from “The Wiz,” and a lion dance from the troupe Most Precious Lion Dance.

Thank you to the Wyncote PTO for sponsoring this event.

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Wyncote Elementary launched its “One Book, One Read, One Wyncote” Reading Project on Friday morning. Each student in the school will get the chance to take home and read “Those Shoes” by Maribeth Boelts, take a photo of themselves with the book, and color a drawing of a sneaker to be hung in the hallway, thanks to a grant from the Cheltenham Education Foundation. 

“I’ve been dreaming about doing a school-wide project like this for years,” said Principal Jim Taylor. “I’m so excited that we finally get to do it this year, thanks to the foundation.”

“Those Shoes” is a picture book that highlights diverse characters and explores the important difference between “needs and wants.” One student from each class in the school was chosen at random to take their book home this weekend.