The New Lower Moreland High School Documentary

Pine Road Elementary School

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Pine Road Elementary School is the only public elementary school situated in Lower

Moreland Township and serving residents of the Lower Moreland Township School

District, located in Montgomery County, PA. The elementary school was built in

1960 by Heacock & Platt Architects. Pine Road was originally home to grades K – 3. As the population of this

popular Philadelphia suburb soared and shifted to families with young children in

the early 2000s, LMTSD was forced make some serious changes. In 2010, a wing was

added to the original elementary school building to accommodate the sharp

increase in enrollment. This vast addition allowed the district to transition the

elementary school into a K-5 grade model. This reorganization in turn, helped

relieve pressure on Murray Avenue Middle School, which was rapidly reaching full

capacity.

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For nearly a decade, the LMTSD managed to maintain Pine Road Elementary as a K-

5 educational model. The rigor, excellence and nation-wide recognition of Lower

Moreland schools however, continued to attract residents. As developers cleared

the remaining farms, fields and wooded lands throughout the township, home

construction and sales soared. Once again, LM schools were fast approaching full

capacity in all three buildings by the spring of 2018.

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During the fall of 2018, LMTSD officially welcomed a new Superintendent, Dr. Scott

Davidheiser. It didn’t take long for Davidheiser to see the writing on the wall. LM

desperately needed make some serious changes very quickly, in order to (1) absorb

the influx of students to the district; and (2) better accomadate the increase of

learners with special abilities throughout the district. As part of a total overhaul of

the LMTSD, Davidheiser’s plan included a restructuring of Pine Road Elementary

School once again. Starting in the fall of 2023, Pine Road Elementary School will

serve the community as a K-4 grade educational model. Grade 5 students will be

reunited with Murray Avenue Middle School, which is to be relocated to the site of

the original Lower Moreland High School during the fall of 2023. This relocation

accompanies the construction of a new Lower Moreland High School alongside the

original high school building to form a campus-like setting for both the middle and

high school students of Lower Moreland. Pine Road Elementary, in the meantime,

will have gained the space needed to house the growing K-4 th grade learners.

Another addition to Pine Road Elementary School is not a viable option, due to the

land size and location limitations.

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The current Principal of Pine Road Elementary School is Mr. Scott Cole. He’s looking

forward to helping the students and their families, as well as the Pine Road faculty

and staff through this challenging, yet exciting transition. [ Get quote from Mr. Cole).

The Assistant Principal at Pine Road is Mrs. Patti Thomas and she too is { get quote

from Mrs. Thomas). Cole and Thomas, together with the Pine Road teachers and

administrators view this move as one in the right direction. It will enable Pine Road

Elementary to remain on top of it’s game as it decreases classroom sizes together

with the student: teacher ratios. While Pine Road Elementary School’s success as an

 

educational facility is well known, as evidenced the high English and Math Testing

scores compared to the state and national averages, there is always room for

improvement. Reducing class sizes and reallocating building space to more

technological, business oriented and state of the arts learning centers is critical to

Pine Road School’s continued success.

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Written by Sophia Zalipsky