Leslye Abrutyn

Leslye S. Abrutyn, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Penn-Delco School District

 

A nationally recognized educator, author and speaker, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was named superintendent of the Penn-Delco School District, Delaware County, Penn., in1997 and  earned many honors during her tenure. 

 

District Leadership

Among her primary duties, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn oversaw all academic and administrative functions for four elementary schools, a middle school and a high school in the suburban Philadelphia district, which is home to some 3,300 students and 26,000 residents.

Reporting to the Penn-Delco Board of Directors, and assuring compliance with state and federal requirements, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn managed an annual operating budget of more than $44 million and a staff that includes 25 administrators and more than 500 employees, making the district the community’s largest employer. In addition to her budgetary and personnel responsibilities, she directed the district’s curriculum and oversaw its technology directives, student achievement iniatives, legal matters, transportation needs, facilities and public relations.

 

As part of her outreach mission, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn also served as liaison for the three communities that make up the district. In addition to leading monthly board meetings, she also cultivated a strong presence on local cable television and communicated with the public through the print media, seminars and other events.

 

National Honors

Dr. Leslye Abrutyn has brought many honors and national recognition to the Penn-Delco School District, especially those resulting from her commitment to technology in education. Notably, the Milken Foundation chose the district to serve as a case study for effective use of technology in schools under her advocacy.

 

Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was also at the helm when four of the district’s schools were chosen from a field of 16,000 to be among the 18 listed on the Computer Curriculum Corporation’s 2001 Honor Roll.

 

At the first Technology + Learning Conference sponsored by the National School Boards Association in 2001, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn presented “Using Technology to Improve Achievement, Accountability and Public Support.” She also served on the Advisory Board for the event in Atlanta.

 

She is recognized as an educational authority in matters beyond technology as well. In May 2007, the U.S. Congress tapped Dr. Leslye Abrutyn to be one of the country’s first superintendents to testify on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.

 

Awards

The Pennsylvania Association for School Administrators awarded Dr. Leslye Abrutyn the John Kresovich Award for Innovation and Instruction in the Use of Technology.

In 1999, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was inducted into Temple University’s Education  Gallery of Success.

 

In 2003, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was the Education Honoree during the March of Dimes Delaware County Salute to Women of Achievement.

 

Also in 2003, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was presented with the Friends of Delaware County Women’s Commission Spirit of Excellence Award for Individual Business Achievement.

In 2006, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn received the prestigious Dean Arthur Herbert Wilde Society Award, awarded to select Boston University School of Education Alumni for outstanding service to the profession.

 

Writings

Dr. Leslye Abrutyn has authored and co-authored many publications for the educationals audiences. She wrote, with Charlotte Danielson, “An Introduction to Using Portfolios in the Classroom.” The 1997 book was published in English, Spanish and Chinese. She also wrote “The Teacher Newsletter and Parent Involvement: A Case Study of Content Defined by Parents and Teachers” (1997).

 

In 2006, the Association for Curriculum and Development (ASCD) published Dr. Leslye Abrutyn’s article, “The Most Important Data,” in Educational Leadership. Dr. Leslye Abrutyn has also served on the Editorial Advisory Panel for District Administrator magazine.

 

Education and Affiliations

Dr. Leslye Abrutyn holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and a master’s degree in Special Education from Temple University; she received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Boston University. She has also earned certifications in Reading from the University of Pennsylvania and in Secondary School Administration from Temple University, as well as completed a Letter of Eligibility certification program at Arcadia University.

 

Among her many affiliations, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was president of the Women’s Caucus of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

 

Dr. Leslye Abrutyn served as an Executive Board member of Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services (SES). She was an Advisory Board member for the Middle States Accreditation For Growth (AFG) Commission on Secondary Schools to develop the AFG Process.

 

As a charter member of the New Standards Consortium, a group of five school districts working with the Center for Greater Philadelphia, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn served on the assessment sub-committee with the ultimate goal of securing grants and raising school standards.

 

In addition to her involvement with a wide range of civic and community organizations, Dr. Leslye Abrutyn was a member of the following educational organizations:

Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (PASCD) Pennsylvania Association of Secondary School Principals (PASSP) Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA).