Allyssa Schmitt: East Falls and the Mifflin School get a Wonderful New Principal

East Falls heartily welcomes Ms. Allyssa Schmitt as the new principal of the Mifflin School. Prior to beginning her tenure at Mifflin, Principal Schmitt was a teacher in the Pittsburgh Public School System for fourteen years. Principal Schmitt has had a multitude of urban teaching and administrative experiences in Pittsburgh and is thrilled to be collaborating with the East Falls community. Ms. Schmitt has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and received her Master of Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Ms. Schmitt sees being a principal in a large urban school district as one of the most challenging yet rewarding jobs possible. Principal Schmitt sees the principal as the school’s Chief Executive Officer, responsible for managing day-to-day operations, leading and motivating the instruction and professional growth of staff, and enforcing rules, rewards, and consequences to shape student behavior. She believes that all community and school stakeholders must work together to develop a culture conducive to learning and it is the principal’s primary role to create the environment in which this can occur. In working with her over the last few months, the East Falls School Committee has found Principal Schmitt to be hard-working, flexible, dedicated, and extremely responsive and communicative. The East Falls School Committee looks forward to a long and productive relationship between Principal Schmitt, her leadership team, and the broader East Falls community as we work to make Mifflin the best grammar school in the City.

Eighth graders and parents to check out choices at High School Expo

The Philadelphia School District is sponsoring an "extravaganza" of high school choice on October 30 (Saturday) at its High School Expo. The event, will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, halls A and B, 12th and Arch Streets. It's a great way for current eighth graders in public, private, parochial and charter schools to find out about the broad range of high schools and high school programs in the Philadelphia public schools. The expo is especially important because current eighth graders who plan to attend a District high school in September must submit a High School Admissions Form to the District by November 19.

October 5th Meeting

The East Falls School Committee will reconvene on October 5th at 7:00 PM. We'll be meeting at our usual location at the Presbyterian Church at the corner of Vaux and Midvale in East Falls. We'll be talking about goal setting for the 2005-2006 school year, how to advance International Baccalaureate certification, and other exciting developments for the Mifflin School. Please come and join us; the more support we have, the more we'll accomplish.