Deena Pack​: Lower Merion School Director Candidate Profile

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — With the 2025 municipal election growing ever close, voters need to be informed of who will be on their ballots Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Below is a profile of Deena Pack, who is running to become a Lower Merion School Director.

Name: Deena Pack
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Location/Town: Bala Cynwyd PA
Party: Republican
Campaign website/social media: https://www.togetherlmsd.com/

What are some of the toughest challenges local teachers face in 2025?

Throughout this campaign, we have met with many educators and have heard a lot of the same concerns and stressors be mentioned. Teachers in LMSD are seeing a significant amount of anxiety in their students that impacts the students ability to learn, test and retain information. The is born out nationally by the PEW research study that surveyed a large sample of teachers in 2023. In that study, teachers claimed the top three problems they faced are Poverty, Chronic Absenteeism and Anxiety/depression. Another key area of concern for teachers in LMSD is not having enough support from their administrators to get the work done that is needed. One teacher told us that the teachers are not given any Professional Development time to review their students’ Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and therefore must do that at home on their own time, often on the holiday weekend prior to the start of school. A substitute teacher told us that since he is a substitute, the LMSD system that houses the IEP data is unavailable to him. He was therefore unable to learn more about how to support his students. This lack of support ultimately burns good teachers out, and we cannot afford to lose good teachers.

Does the prevalence of smartphones in classrooms hinder students’ ability to retain lessons taught in school?

Yes. Smartphones and devices do not belong in school. As a parent and as a School Board candidate, I support the measures advocated by the Wait Until 8th parent community. I think that COVID measures introduced too much reliance on devices and screentime into all K-12th classrooms and I think this trend is only increasing the amount of anxiety and depression our children are exhibiting. A wonderful book called the Anxious Generation explores this idea. Our children are losing core interpersonal skills that shape how they interact with others. They are playing outside less and internalizing the social media content they see more. Smartphones and the constant stimulation they receive from them shorten our children’s attention spans as well and the creativity that is achieved when they get “bored” is diminished. I believe children do not need a smartphone until 8th grade and they should not have social media until 11th or 12th. It is important to note, that any policy that the district enacts must also include provisions for children with disabilities or special educational needs, as these students may need devices to access their supports. We can never forget that not every student is neurotypical, and there are some children that may need alternatives afforded to them.

How do you plan to address school safety, as well as the rise in hoax threats toward schools? If not, what should be done to address that.

Last Friday, the LMSD community got a very scary taste of what a lockdown of our schools could look like. There was an active police situation in the Bala Cynwyd area, and some schools were locked down as the police searched for armed suspects. While thankfully there were no injuries and some schools were able to keep children calm, other schools implementation of the lockdown procedures left much to be desired. If our slate is elected to the LMSD School Board, we would request an immediate report about what went well, what did not, and how immediate changes can be implemented to ensure these failures never happen again. I would also like to advocate for School Resource officers to be present and armed in every school. We need to have an independent assessment done of the safety and security of each school, and try to implement mitigation measures for any risks identified. We can no longer pretend that our community is safe from the threat of school violence. We need to be proactive in evaluating and addressing these concerns before, God forbid, and danger befalls our students.

Are teachers in the district adequately compensated? If not, what should be done to address that.

Yes, I believe LMSD pays teachers well and gives them comprehensive benefits and retirement packages. Regionally, LMSD teachers are some of the best compensated in PA.

LSMD is blessed to have the resources to recruit and pay the best qualified teachers, and we should be focusing our effort on ensuring that we’re only bringing those highest caliber teachers into the district.

What can the district do to better support students who are struggling in school due to factors outside classrooms, such as food or housing insecurity?

These social issues can be incredibly hard to identify as children and families are often unwilling to admit to the needs they have. There are many social resources available, but it can be hard to identify children and families who need this help. One way our slate would address this is by treating families dignity. We would advocate for a policy resolution that would provide training to front-office staff, nurses, counselors, and attendance teams in outreach so every interaction feels respectful and supportive. Next, we’ll make resources easy to find and understand: all messages will be in plain language and in our top home languages, sent by text, WhatsApp, email, and paper, with a one-page “Help Now” guide that uses QR codes to connect families directly to resources. We would also ask the district to add a short, multilingual basic-needs screener to enrollment, annual updates, and routine nurse/attendance touchpoints, so families that need help are identified at key touchpoints and are able to ask for the help they need without feeling judgement.