Neubauer Fellows Community

Sharon Marino

Founder & Principal, Marigold Educational Coaching and Consulting, LLC
2016 Neubauer Fellow
Sector
Private
Education
M.S. Elementary Education, St. Joseph’s University
Administrative Certification, Cheyney University
English as a Second Language Specialist Certification, Penn State University
B.A. English Literature, Rosemont College
“As a school leader, my role was to partner with stakeholders to create a safe environment that supported the growth of the community, students, and staff and to work toward eliminating any barriers toward opportunity and access. Now, as a coach and consultant, my passion to continue this work grounds me in my “why” and calls me to share this work with others."

Sharon is Founder and Principal of Marigold Educational Coaching and Consulting, LLC.  Prior to this role Sharon served as the principal of Alexander K. McClure School from 2013 until 2021. Under her leadership, McClure secured “Community School” designation from the Mayor’s Office of Children and Families, providing students and families access to need-based academic tutoring, medical/mental health resources, technology support services and more.  In addition, the school was awarded “Overall School Progress Report Highest Three-Year Improvement” in 2019—2020 after moving from “Intervene” status in 2015—2016 to “Reinforce” status in 2018—2019.

Sharon also secured numerous local, state, and federal grants to support the vision and mission of the community, including the “Good to Great Early Literacy Grant”, “Pandemic Restart Grant” and a school-wide “Picasso Art Grant” with the theme “Celebrating Hunting Park”.  Other grants she facilitated focused on investing in people, including the APTT (Academic Parent Teacher Teams) and TeachPlus (supports Teacher Leadership) initiatives.  Under the umbrella of coaching, Sharon personally mentored 12+ staff members who advanced to become assistant principals, principals, ESL managers and family and community engagement liaisons.  In 2019-20 Sharon worked with her community to advocate and ensure that all asbestos removal from their school building was safely completed and that the building was fully deemed lead safe.

Sharon has been an educator since 1999. She has served as a Principal, Kindergarten Teacher, Reading First Coach, and Teacher Leader.  In 2022 she began pursuing her 200-hour Yoga/SEL teacher certification, focused on supporting educators and school communities.  Beyond her consulting practice, she promotes equity in education through her service on the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Board, the Colonial School District Board and the Colonial Area Anti-Racism Social Equity Alliance (CAARSEA).   Sharon is a native of southwest Philadelphia, and a graduate of West Catholic High School.

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