Megan Mealie: Success in the Ambridge Area School District
Megan Mealie graduated Ambridge Area High School in 1987, and has since gone on to do many great things within the Ambridge Area School District. For more than 16 years, Dr. Megan Mealie provided dedicated, visionary service to the District and its many students, including within such roles as Ambridge Area High School Assistant Principal, Ambridge Area Junior High School Principal, and Ambridge Area School District Assistant to the Superintendent. She recently earned her Doctoral degree at Capella University.
Megan Mealie: Ensuring a Successful School District
Megan Mealie is no stranger to the field of educational leadership, having demonstrated the qualities of an adept public school teacher, administrator, and educational executive throughout the course of her career. The recent recipient of a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Management, Dr. Mealie continues to be a voice and impetus for positive change in the often complex realm of public education.
As Assistant to the Superintendent for the Ambridge Area School District (2013-2015), Megan Mealie not only obtained significant experience at the highest levels of public education leadership; she also set herself apart as a driven and effective leader, someone with both the motivation and the skill necessary to develop and implement programs that would make a real difference for both the district and the communities in which it served.
Some of her accomplishments within this role include:
- The successful implementation of numerous positive programs.
- The successful obtainment of monetary donations from vendors.
- The development of a new 9th and 10th grade vocational transition program to benefit at-risk youth.
- Securing an on-site mental health clinic for one of the District’s elementary schools.
- The development of a new cyber and blended learning program for 6th-12th grade students.
Megan Mealie: Program Development as Principal
Megan Mealie served as an invaluable asset to Pennsylvania’s Ambridge Area School District for more than 15 years, proving herself not only as an educator, but as an organizational leader, administrator and educational executive. A dedicated and diligent educational professional, Dr. Mealie demonstrated a strong aptitude for visionary, innovative leadership; the kind responsible for driving positive change while cultivating a more effective and more rewarding learning environment.
Much of Megan Mealie’s tenure with the Ambridge Area School District was spent as Principal of Ambridge Area Junior High School, a position she enjoyed from 2001 to 2013. As Principal, Mealie was responsible not only for promoting a safe, secure and effective learning environment, but for instituting many programs to benefit students and enhance morale throughout the building.
Such programs Mealie was responsible for developing, as Principal, included:
- A school-wide Alateen program.
- A school-wide positive behavior support program.
- A student-teacher mentor support program.
- A school-wide bully prevention program.
In addition, Dr. Mealie successfully applied for and was awarded the Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth grant, the Keystones to Opportunity grant, and the Olweus Bully Prevention grant. Such grants procured much-needed funds for programs that benefitted students, faculty and employees throughout the entire school.
Dr. Megan Mealie: Compassionate Professional
Dr. Megan Mealie is a compassionate teaching professional who has spent decades of her life helping others. Megan Mealie began her career after earning a Bachelor’s degree and a double Master’s degree in 1993, when she accepted a position with the Missouri School for the Blind – she specializes in education for developmentally handicapped students.
“Megan [Mealie] was the best administrator in Ambridge School District for seventeen years,” reads a review from a position that Mrs. Mealie moved on from in 2015. “As a parent I watched her transform the junior high school into the top building. She did wonders for my son who hated school and had special needs. Since she left the district, [nothing is the same].”
To make such an impact on parents is a feat of its own among education professionals like Mrs. Mealie, but she also received rave reviews from students and fellow teaching colleagues.
In addition to her acts in education, Megan Mealie has led fundraisers to help fellow community members and she donates her time to worth causes on a regular basis. The proceeds from one of Mrs. Mealie’s fundraisers went to help a parent of a student who was battling pancreatic cancer. She raised over $27,000 and, today, the fundraiser’s beneficiary is happily cancer-free.
Megan Mealie Brings Olweus Bully Prevention Grant to Ambridge Junior High
During her time at Ambridge Junior High School Principal Megan Mealie was put to the test by three significant crisis events. These crises saw Megan Mealie rise to the challenge, assisted by her superior public relations and communication skills as well as her knowledge of community liaison imperatives. Mealie worked with curriculum programs on all levels, revising, remediating and improving course materials. Principal Mealie addressed flagging PSSA competency scores in the math, reading and special education departments by working directly in restructuring efforts. This work overcame PSSA warning status several times. Scores were raised by initiating new courses and curricula for the disaggregated and special education groups through an after school tutoring program and a specially devised PSSA boot camp.
Even while Principal Megan Mealie worked tirelessly to complete building renovations and shore up PSSA scores, she was also working to reduce bullying and student disciplinary incidents in the building. Mealie was able to gain the Highmark Healthy Five Grant for Olweus Bully Prevention in 2008. She also put in the place the bully prevention program on a school wide basis.
Megan Mealie: Three Ways You Can Help your Community
Megan Mealie is an active member of her community. She volunteers with youth sports organizations, woks with animal shelters, and she has been involved with a number of charitable events. “I spear-headed the first ever district/community fundraising partnership with the Center for Hope in Ambridge Pennsylvania” Mealie states. She is an energetic, caring, and intelligent education professional who is always eager to get involved with a new fundraising project and assist others in need. The Detrick’s Fund and the Pancreatic Cancer Fundraiser are just two examples of the humanitarian projects she has tackled. There are several ways for people to support their community.
If you want to get involved and help others, you can work with a local charity. Most cities host a number of charitable and non-profit organizations. You can work on community clean up initiatives, or you can focus on helping families who are in need. Volunteering your time with a local charity can improve your community and the lives of your neighbors.
Another way to get involved is to volunteer with schools and education programs. You can volunteer as an after school tutor, or you can help fundraise for school supplies and events. When you help local schools, you are inadvertently helping families as well.
A third way to support your community is to get involved with fundraisers when there are families in need. If you know of someone who needs help, you can organize a fundraiser and get the rest of the community involved. Megan Mealie cares about the people in her community, and enjoys teaching her own children the importance of helping others