Mr. Schlegel Announced as Principal for New Elementary School
Posted on 02/27/2020
Allentown, PA (February 27, 2020) – The Allentown School District is excited to announce the selection of Mr. Naaman Schlegel as the principal for the new elementary school, opening in the fall of 2020. The appointment is expected to be approved at this evening’s board meeting on Thursday, February 27, 2020.
“We interviewed many excellent candidates for this position and congratulate current Cleveland Elementary School principal Naaman Schlegel on his new role,” said Superintendent Thomas Parker. “Naaman brings a strong sense of commitment and understanding of the best way to align building priorities with the district’s mission, vision, and Strategic Framework,” continued Parker.
Naaman joined the ASD administrative team in 2016, where he served as Assistant Principal at Ritter Elementary. He has been the acting principal of Cleveland Elementary School since November 2017. In that time, he developed a proven track record of integrating technology into the classroom and increasing student achievement, while developing strong and lasting relationships with members of the school community.
Under his leadership, Cleveland students have exceeded the academic standards for growth (PVAAS) in both ELA and Math and showed the 2nd highest growth percentage in the Lehigh Valley among all elementary and middle schools. Schlegel and his teaching staff attribute this growth to the increased use of student data to drive decision making.
During the interview process, Schlegel presented a thoughtful plan to successfully transition students and families from Cleveland and McKinley to the new school and a strategy for unifying the two communities.
“I am elated to have been given this opportunity to lead this new school. This is a very exciting time for the City of Allentown and the Allentown School District,” said Naaman. “With this beautiful new building comes a tremendous challenge of blending two small school communities into one large school community. I am eager to begin working on the transition phases and leading the work of this new building moving forward.”
Schlegel holds a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from West Chester University and a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Scranton. He also holds an ESL certification from Penn State University Berks.