Ex-Superintendent To Hold Post For New Cheltenham School Year

CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — The Cheltenham Township School District is calling on a seasoned leader to get them back on track following hazing charges that led to the resignation of its schools superintendent.

At a special meeting of the Cheltenham Board of School Directors on Tuesday night, Chris McGinley was approved unanimously as the district's interim superintendent for the 2026-27 school year.

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McGinley served the district as assistant superintendent (1999-2003), and then as superintendent from 2003 to 2006.

A week after 10 members of the Cheltenham High School football program were charged in two locker room hazing incidents, the district'sschools superintendent Brian W. Scriven sent a resignation letter to the Cheltenham School Board on Thursday.

Four Cheltenham High School football coaches and six players were charged last week in two locker room incidents where multiple players beat a sophomore player in August and September 2025, authorities said.

The charges stemmed from two alleged assaults of a football player that happened in the locker room and led to the eventual cancellation of two football seasons.

While in Cheltenham, McGinley led the effort to close a persistent academic achievement gap, and partnered with the University of Pennsylvania to establish the Penn Center for Equity and Excellence, an organization that includes more than 50 school districts dedicated to closing achievement gaps.

"At a time when the district is focused on rebuilding public trust and ensuring the safety of all students at all district schools, we believe that Dr. McGinley is uniquely qualified to lead our schools during the upcoming school year," School Board President Leah Mulhearn said.

School officials said his roles as a teacher, school principal, district level administrator, school district superintendent and professor of educational leadership have shaped McGinley's perspectives on leadership and learning.

He recently concluded his service as Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies Department Chair at the Temple University College of Education and Human Development, where he held the post of professor of practice.

McGinley also served on Philadelphia's School Reform Commission and on the school board of the School District of Philadelphia.

His leadership experiences also include serving as Lower Merion School District Superintendent of Schools and Delaware County Intermediate Unit Executive Director.

McGinley began his career in the School District of Philadelphia as a special education teacher. In Philadelphia, he also served as an elementary and middle school principal, regional superintendent and executive director of leadership development.

A graduate of Temple University with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education, McGinley earned his master's degree in special education from Antioch University and received his doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He gained his principal certification at Temple University.