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Jacksonwald Elementary

Grades K-4 | 610-779-1820

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Directory

JACKSONWALD ELEMENTARY

100 Church Lane Road | Reading, PA 19606
(610) 779-1820

Click Here For A Searchable Directory
  • Office

    x5103 Matt Hathaway, Principal
    x5101 Dani Merkel, Secretary
    x5102 Marybeth Eckenroth, Attendance Secretary

  • Counselor & Psychologist

    x5210 Kate Atkinson, School Counselor
    x5712 Jodi Landis, Psychologist

  • Nurse

    x5104 Nicole Strauss

  • Technology Support

    x5136 Kristin Kenagy

Note: Faculty phone numbers go to voice mail during school hours

  • Kindergarten

    x5427 Christine Druzba
    x5425 Lori Simmons
    x5426 Ashley Weaver

  • Grade 1

    x5119 Christina Ibanez
    X5121 Becky Krommes
    x5120 Kristine Schmidt

  • Grade 2

    x5124 Val Bloch
    x5123 Cyndi Lorady 
    x5126 Christine Motley

  • Grade 3

    x5219 Jenna Conrow
    x5221 Kaitlyn Lohr
    x5217 Stacia Miller
    x5220 Karlee Perilli

  • Grade 4

    X5226 Melissa Adams
    x5224 Brianna Amanto
    x5227 Elizabeth Caruso
    x5225 Todd Papich 

  • Reading & Intervention Specialists

    x5211 Hillary Arndt, Intervention Specialist
    x5422 Rachel Gierlich, English as a Second Language
    x5212 Nancy Salvatore, Reading Specialist
    x5207 Allison Shuman, Reading/Intervention Specialist

  • Special Education

    x5419 Karyn Algeo, Autistic Support
    x5117 Jennifer Elliott, Learning Support
    x5127 Heather Gromlich, Autistic Support
    x5223 Trisha Maguire, Learning Support
    x5218 Saranne Reisig, Learning Support
    x5423 Robyn Shaffer, Autistic Support
    x5125 Kathleen Walker, Gifted

  • Specials

    x5150 Matt Hadley, Physical Education
    x5417 Heather Hafer, Music
    x5208 Amy Parsons, Art
    x5418 Emily Reppert, Instrumental Music
    x5138 Wendy Wegman, Library

  • Therapist

    x5420 Daria Robinson, Speech Therapist

Home » Exeter Celebrates National School Social Work Week
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When we found out that the theme for this year's National School Social Work Week was "Time to Shine," we immediately thought there was no more perfect time to put a spotlight on our district's own social worker and ray of sunshine, Mrs. Ashley Rinehart. Ashley dedicates her professional life to helping our most vulnerable students and their families by providing a link to school and community resources during times of crises. When you first meet Ashley, you immediately sense her inner calmness, gentleness and peace--a trait that immediately puts so many of the students and their families at ease who are going through periods of instability, such as homelessness. Even though schools have been employing social workers for decades, many people don't know that the services that Ashley provides are here--until they may need her. We hope you'll take a moment to get to know more about her, her work, and what makes her shine:

Q: For someone who doesn't know, what does your job encompass? What does a typical day look like for you?

A: A typical day can be organized chaos most of the time and it varies day to day based on the needs of the district. Often it's filling out homeless status intakes, taking out resources to students/families, referring students to various community programs, and working on distributing mental health surveys.

Q: How long have you been a social worker? How long have you worked at Exeter?

A: I have been a social worker since January of 2015, so seven total years. This is my third year at Exeter. Prior to Exeter I worked in schools, in mental health, at children & youth services, and in case management.

Q: Did you do anything prior to becoming a social worker? If so, what? Why did you change your career?
A: I had part time jobs in college as a tour guide. As soon as I graduated from college I started my social work career. I have always known though that I wanted to be a school social worker.

Q: What's your favorite part of your job?

A: My favorite part of my job is getting to know the students and families in our community. I love helping people and this job allows me to do that.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

A: The most challenging part of my job is finding the appropriate resources for families and students when COVID has caused a lot of agencies to downsize or close. There are so many great services in our community but they have struggled through the pandemic as well. It can be really difficult to address specific needs when there aren't as many resources as there usually are.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that I….”

A: They may be surprised to learn that there are a lot of stressful and very hard days that come with school social work. However there are good days too, like when you have helped someone and those days make all the difficult days worth it.

Q: The theme for this year’s National School Social Workers Week is "Time to Shine.” What does that mean to you?
A: Time to Shine to me means making the best out of something and shining through the hard times. This year has been tough for everyone and if it has taught me anything it's how resilient people are and how resilient our students are. They are truly growing and learning from the pandemic and trying to shine themselves.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share?
A: I appreciate the staff in Exeter so much. I am so grateful to work with such amazing people.

Jacksonwald Elementary School

jacksonwald

Address & Contact Info

  • 100 Church Lane Road
    Reading, PA 19606

  • Phone:
    610-779-1820

  • Fax:
    610-779-8844

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Our Schools

Exeter Township Senior High

Exeter Township Junior High

Reiffton School

Jacksonwald Elementary

Lorane Elementary

Owatin Creek Elementary