Marple Newtown Superintendent Wins 2014 PASA Award

The following was provided to Patch:

Dr. Merle Horowitz, superintendent of the Marple Newtown School District, has been named the recipient of the 2014 PASA Award for Leadership in Public Education.

The award, co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) and Public Financial Management/Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust (PFM/PLGIT), recognizes an administrator who has demonstrated commitment to school administration as a profession, to public education, and to one’s colleagues, including participation in and leadership with the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

Beginning as an elementary teacher, Dr. Horowitz has served nearly four decades in Delaware County school districts and across the Commonwealth, serving as Superintendent in Marple Newtown since 2005.

As superintendent, Horowitz has led district-wide renovation projects to bring the district’s schools up-to-date with security and technology improvements, all of which served as a catalyst to the transformation of the district’s academic environment and staff and student morale. As a result, Marple Newtown High School and Worrall Elementary recently were acknowledged for outstanding student achievement with the Governor’s Award for Excellence.

In addition, Dr. Horowitz reinvigorated the Tiger Foundation, which has distributed $56,000 in grants to professionals in all six schools to enhance academic, technical and cultural learning opportunities, facilitated foreign exchange programs, enhanced the district’s music program, and initiated a “Sponsor a Scholar” program to provide college scholarships for financially needy students.

In addition to a long career in educational leadership, Horowitz has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Foundation’s 2014 Financial Literacy Advocate Award and the Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Contributions, Dedication and Support of the Workplace Safety Committee Training Initiative in Delaware County from the Arthur J. Gallagher Company.

Horowitz has dedicated 20 years to the profession studying and implementing bullying prevention programs, as well as online harassment of educators. She is most recently the co-author of the book Cyberbullying in Social Media within Educational Institutions, and has made numerous presentations on the issue of cyberbullying to educators nationally, statewide and regionally, as well as serving on a panel for both CBS and NBC television stations in Philadelphia.

In addition, Horowitz has served on the PASA Board of Governors since 2010 and as president of the PASA Women’s Caucus from 2012-2014. During Horowitz’s presidency, she gave the caucus a new focus by authoring two dozen columns in the PASA newsletter, facilitating regional meetings in southeastern Pennsylvania annually for female administrators, and personally mentored women who have moved up the career ladder in school administration.

Dr. G. Brian Toth, 2013-14 PASA President, acknowledged Dr. Horowitz on October 23 at the PASA Recognition Luncheon during this year’s Annual Leadership Conference at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center in Hershey. In addition, PFM/PLGIT will contribute $1,000 in her name to the professional development/preparation or scholarship fund of her choice.

Since 1981, the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust (PLGIT) has helped local governments and school entities to pool their resources in an effort to gain better control of their assets, get a good return, and seek a safe haven for their money. Today PLGIT serves more than 2,600 local governments and school districts. PLGIT is member-owned and operated. Public Financial Management (PFM) provides independent financial and investment advisory services.

The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA) is a professional organization that promotes high quality public education systems for all learners through the support and development of professional leadership.