Ten years ago, while walking down Germantown Avenue, Corinne Scioli stopped for a moment to admire the beautiful playground at the Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences. Looking up at the almost 100-year old school building, she paused in admiration and whispered to the universe, “I would love to be the principal of this school someday.”

That dream will become a reality next month when incoming Principal Scioli begins her new role leading the school. Before she begins, we sat down for a conversation with Jenks’ new leader.

Please share a bit about yourself.
Scioli: I grew up with a strong value system of hard work, perseverance and focus on making dreams a reality. I am a first-generation United States citizen and a native Spanish speaker. My mother is Dominican and my father is Panamanian. I went to elementary school in Panama, where I was taught in both Spanish and English.

When our family moved back to the United States, I continued my studies in Queens, New York and then Deer Park, Long Island. I am a proud product of New York public schools. I graduated at the top of my class and attended The University of Pennsylvania, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Education.

I met my husband of 25 years at Penn and we have two boys (Spencer, 21, and Jude, 14). Chase, our yellow lab, is a rescue pup that makes our home complete.

How long did you teach and where?
I was a teacher for 20 years and taught in a variety of school settings. My first teaching position was in Montgomery County, Maryland, where I co-taught English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and was a 2^nd grade lead teacher. During my tenure there, I started evening parent workshops to help the many immigrant families navigate supports for themselves and strategies to help the students at home.

I then moved to Great Neck, New York, where I co-taught Special Education and was a 3^rd grade lead teacher. While I was teaching in New York, I studied with Lucy Calkins at Columbia University and launched readers’ and writers’ workshops in the classroom.

When our family moved to Philadelphia, I taught at Penn Charter and at Erdenheim in Springfield Township. Most recently, for the past six years, I have served as an administrator at Mayfair School, which has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career. I have a tremendous love for learning, working collaboratively with others and developing young minds.

What excites you most about joining us at Jenks?
Jenks is an absolute gem in Chestnut Hill where our students are invited to be innovative thinkers that engage in real-life experiential learning opportunities to make a positive impact in the world. I am excited to see the smiling faces of our school community as we open Jenks for our new school year and welcome our students, teachers, and family members for in-person learning. It has been a long, challenging year, and I look forward to celebrating a new future together.

What are some ways you would like to connect to both the Jenks and local community?
Chestnut Hill is a charming community, full of tradition and history, from its Belgian block streets to its local businesses. Jenks has strong community partnerships with its Home and School Association and Friends of Jenks. Both organizations work in tandem to support the Chestnut Hill community and Jenks School. Together we will work to ensure that our school community thrives as we continue to plan fun and engaging events for our students and neighbors to reunite once again.

What plans do you have for Jenks?
I want to take us into a long sustainable future to serve the students of our neighborhood well beyond our lifetime. This coming school year we will focus strongly on tier one academics and healing together. We will devote time to plan rigorously aligned instruction that promotes equitable access for all of our students while ensuring we devote meaningful time to building our community values. I look forward to an amazing journey together.