Pennsylvania governor-elect Josh Shapiro has nominated Khalid Mumin – Lower Merion School District Superintendent and former Reading School District Superintendent — to serve as the state’s secretary of education.
Some former colleagues of Mumin in Reading remember his commitment to equity in education and his ability to engage with diverse communities.
Mumin worked for six years at one of the largest urban districts in the state. When he began his tenure in 2014, Reading faced significant challenges: high dropout rates, low test scores and a financial crisis.
During his time as superintendent, Mumin was able to address some of these problems by putting together teams of experts that created consistent lesson plans across different schools. He led the creation of programs to re-engage dropouts and non-traditional students. He hired a chief financial officer and created partnerships with key legislators to secure funding for Reading. Due to a combination of reforms led by Mumin and his staff, the district emerged from financial distress and narrowly averted a takeover by the state.
In August 2021, Mumin became superintendent at Lower Merion School District, located in a predominantly wealthy, suburban area outside of Philadelphia.
“I believe that he’s the total package,” said Reading School District School Board President Dr. Noahleen Betts. “ He’s experienced the spectrum, because here in 2014, he came into a school district that was failing. He brought the school district back to where we are now operating on a $387 million-dollar budget.”
Mumin was named Superintendent of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators in 2021 for his success in improving test scores and boosting graduation rates.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when schools closed down and students shifted to remote learning, Mumin focused on ensuring students from all economic backgrounds had access to technology.
Yamil Sánchez-Rivera, assistant superintendent at Reading School District, worked alongside Mumin for two years during the most difficult phase of the pandemic. He said the district secured almost 7,500 Chromebooks to help students work remotely. The district also began a partnership with Comcast that pays for internet access for families who can’t afford it.
Reading School District announced all classes will begin online this year, leading to calls to expand internet access in the city.
“The leadership that he provided was very caring that we wanted to make sure that we as a collective, were taking care of kids, not only academically, but also meeting all the other needs that they have mental health services, some basic services related to food and health,” Sánchez-Rivera said.
He focused on the district’s majority Latino community, many of whom are English Language learners. He led the creation of the Reading School District Welcome Center to engage families of English language learners, and help connect them to bilingual social services.
Mike Toledo, president of Reading’s main Hispanic center – Centro Hispano – said Mumin brings people together and facilitates conversations between community partners. He supported Centro Hispano’s “Abriendo Puertas” program, which is still “helping parents to understand their role as their child’s most important teacher and advocate.” The program is tailored to the needs of Latino children from kindergarten to 5th grade.
“Dr. Mumin has always been about the importance of equity, the importance and knowing that there are some kids and some families, that there are barriers to access, there are barriers to be able to get the resources that our children need,” Toledo said.
About 80% of the students at Reading School District are Latino.
Mumin stepped into his leadership role at a time when the state’s public school community was awaiting a ruling in a landmark lawsuit that challenges the way Pennsylvania funds its public schools. According to a report by The Education trust, Pennsylvania has one of the largest spending gaps in the country, which advocates believe have to do with the distribution of state dollars.
“I look forward to working with the governor-elect to fully fund our schools, make our students’ mental health a priority, and empower parents and guardians to ensure their children receive a quality education, ” Mumin said in Shapiro’s transition team’s statement.
Mumin still has to be confirmed by the state Senate after Josh Shapiro’s inauguration on January 17.
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