Two Main Line Jewish schools are merging | Inquirer Lower Merion
Plus, a Gladwyne man who duped investors out of millions has been sentenced to prison.
Hi, Lower Merion! 👋
Two prominent Jewish day schools are merging. Here’s why. Also this week, the Gladwyne man who duped some of the region’s wealthiest families into investing in his companies has been sentenced to prison, the township is gearing up to present two final plans for Schauffele Plaza’s redesign, and the county has appointed members to its human relations commission.
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Perelman Jewish Day School and the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy are merging in a “proactive” move the two Jewish day schools say will keep them competitive.
The schools plan to keep their geographic footprints, which span Barrack’s Bryn Mawr campus and Perelman’s Melrose Park and Wynnewood facilities.
While many students currently matriculate from Perelman to Barrack, the merger will allow families to enroll students in a single institution from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
This isn’t the first time the two schools have come together. In 2012, they combined their middle schools to create a sixth-through-eighth-grade program on Barrack’s campus.
Read more about the merger, which will go into effect in the 2027-28 school year.
💡 Community News
Josh Verne, the Gladwyne man who convinced some of the region’s wealthiest families to invest in his companies only to use the cash to fund a lavish personal lifestyle, was sentenced yesterday to over nine years in federal prison. Verne’s high-profile investors included Sixers co-owner David Adelman, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, and real estate developer Bart Blatstein.
Ardmore’s Schauffele Plaza is slated for a redesign, and two final options will be presented at the Lower Merion Building and Planning Committee Meeting next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The goal of the redesign is to better utilize the public space and make it more of what the township is calling a “vibrant downtown gathering place.” Both plans call for outdoor dining space and central lawns, but the sizes and amount of greenery in each varies, with one plan reducing overall parking spaces by 56 spots, and the other by 38. See the two plans here.
Lankenau Medical Center named a new president this week. Anna Michelle Brandt succeeds Katie Galbraith and comes to the Wynnewood institution from University Hospital in New Jersey, where she was most recently its COO.
Speaking of Lankenau, it was recently ranked among the best hospitals in the United States by Newsweek, landing at No. 131. Bryn Mawr Hospital is No. 201 in the U.S.
Last month, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners appointed the first members of its new human relations commission. The members are Samuel Coleman IV, Desha Dickson, Fiona Dow, John Han, Rosemary Jenkins, Shahidul Partha, Burt Siegel, and Akilah Williams-Valdez. The commission will allow residents who believe they’ve been discriminated against to mediate their claims. Members will specifically focus on unlawful discrimination in employment, real estate, housing, and public accommodations across the county.
Lower Merion Township has installed four new electric vehicle chargers in the municipal lot in Bryn Mawr across from Ludington Library. Two of the spaces are ADA accessible.
Services at the Center for Positive Aging in Lower Merion are returning to its main building at 117 Ardmore Ave. in Ardmore after it underwent a renovation.
Sugared + Bronzed is opening at Ardmore’s Suburban Square on Monday. Located at 127 Coulter Ave., it will be in the ground floor retail space of the new apartment complex Coulter Place, which opened earlier this year. Sugared + Bronzed offers “sugaring hair removal,” as well as airbrush tanning.
Leveaux Pilates in Ardmore has expanded and is now offering heated mat pilates, a hot take on the classic workout.
🏫 Schools Briefing
Registration is open for all new students starting at any LMSD school for the 2026-27 academic year. Learn more about how to register here.
Tonight is the Freedom Tournament at Cynwyd Elementary and Taste of Penn Wynne. Tomorrow, Lower Merion High has its jazz festival, Penn Valley is hosting its “PV Idol,” and Welsh Valley’s spring musical, The Music Man Jr., kicks off. There are school board committee meetings on Monday and a fourth and fifth grade transition information session for Black Rock parents. See the district’s full calendar here.
The Prom Boutique is open again on Tuesday at Lower Merion High School from 3:30 to 7 p.m.
Students from Bala Cynwyd, Black Rock, and Welsh Valley Middle Schools, and Harriton and Lower Merion High Schools raked in a collective 99 awards at this year’s Pennsylvania Technology Student Association Region 5 Conference, held in late January, with 34 first-place finishes. Some will move onto the state conference, which takes place in mid-April.
Friends’ Central School’s girls’ basketball team defeated the Westtown School 62-54 last week to claim the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championship.
Shipley School sophomore Kate Ulrich took home second place in the U.S. Squash Junior Championship Tournament in the Girls Under 17 division, which was held in January in Philadelphia.
🍽️ On our Plate
Gouldsburger’s opened last week in Ardmore at 4 Station Rd. The latest location for the cheesesteak and burger joint is open every day but Monday.
TikTok-famous PopUp Bagels is gearing up for a March opening in Ardmore, where it will make its regional debut at Suburban Square.
Ripplewood Whiskey & Craft’s bourbon chicken was one of the best things an Inquirer reporter ate last week. The way Chef Kenjiro Omori prepares the bourbon-lacquered chicken is similar to Peking duck and is the perfect antidote to a cold winter night, Michael Klein reports.
🎳 Things to Do
🌋 Science with Food: Kids ages 6 and up can make several science-themed edible crafts, including one inspired by a volcano. ⏰ Saturday, March 7, 4-5:30 p.m. 💵 $37.10 📍The Candy Lab
🍀 St. Patrick’s Day Crafternoon: Kids can make a leprechaun craft during this drop-in event. ⏰ Wednesday, March 11, 3-5 p.m. 💵 Free 📍Gladwyne Library
🏡 On the Market
Built in 1939, this sprawling stone manor estate blends the past and present. The first floor features a formal living room with a gas fireplace and built-ins, a formal dining room with dedicated china closets and a crystal chandelier, an office with its own fireplace, and a kitchen with two-tone cabinetry, a large center island, high-end appliances, and granite countertops. Near the kitchen, there’s also a butler’s pantry. There are four bedrooms upstairs, including a primary suite with a dressing room and four closets, while the bathroom has a soaking tub and double vanity. Other features include a cedar closet in the attic and a partially finished basement. Outside, there’s a pool, gardens, a covered patio, and a chicken coop. There’s an open house Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.
See more photos of the property here.
Price: $3.5M | Size: 5,283 SF | Acreage: 2.04
🗞️ What other Lower Merion residents are reading this week:
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