Renny Lajara

Renny Lajara is a three time graduate of GMercyU, earning his Bachelor of Science in Education in 2002, his Master’s in Education in 2008, and his Doctoral degree in Education in 2017.

Coming to GMercyU

Prior to GMercyU, Renny attended Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). At the time, he wasn’t sure if college was the right move for him, so he took some general education courses.

“I always had a vision of going to college, but I didn’t feel like I was fully prepared when I graduated high school,” said Renny.

At CCP, Renny was a member of the baseball team. While conversing with a teammate, Renny was persuaded to pursue education as his major.

Playing baseball his whole life, Renny always loved teaching the kids in his neighborhood to play. His love for coaching is part of what persuaded him to try education.

I just had a love for children. I love seeing their smile and being able to show them new things and inspiring them.

In high school, Renny and a neighborhood friend Gregory Tony had big dreams of getting out of Philly and attending Florida State University to walk onto the football and baseball teams. One day they bought their plane tickets and flew to Tallahassee where they enrolled in a dual enrollment program with Tallahassee Community College.

After completing his first semester, Renny returned home due to being homesick. His friend Gregory made his dreams come true of walking onto Florida State’s football team, and was duly elected as the first African American Sheriff of Broward County in Florida.

When Renny returned home he joined a summer baseball league. One of his teammates was being recruited to play for Gwynedd, and former Head Coach Paul Murphy attended one of the games.

“I remember I had a great game that day and they asked him about me. They said ‘who is that kid?’ And my friend was like ‘Oh, that’s Renny,’” Renny recalled.

After the game Coach Murphy asked where Renny was planning to attend school and invited him for a visit of GMercyU’s campus.

“So, I remember saying to my friend Domingo, ‘I don’t think I’m smart enough to go to that school,’” said Renny.

Despite his fears, Renny visited GMercyU and was set to start begin his college journey in the spring of 1999. Unfortunately, Renny visited his brother in the Dominican Republic and stayed longer than anticipated, pushing his start date back.

“I was afraid to be honest with you. I was really afraid to come to Gwynedd and start because I didn’t think I was going to be good enough,” shared Renny.

After returning home from his brother’s, Renny was on the streets of Philly. Things began to get rough, and Renny realized that if he didn’t go to college right then, something bad was going to happen.

He called Coach Murphy up immediately, and was put in contact with Admissions who told him his grade point average (GPA) was not high enough for him to enroll.

Renny recalled telling Brian Morris, the admissions counselor that he needed to enroll before something happened to him on the streets. Stunned into silence, Brian said he would see what could be done. Dr. Lorraine Cavalier, Dean of Students at the time, gave Renny the shot to come to GMercyU.

“I knew that this was my only opportunity to get a better life and become an educator like I wanted to do. I wasn’t going to mess that up and I was very regimented. There were a lot of people that helped me learn how to write papers and learn how to study because I didn’t know how to do any of that,” said Renny.

Experience at GMercyU

Aside from being on GMercyU’s baseball team, Renny was also a member of the Voices of Gwynedd and Best Buddies.

He remembered having to take an elective, and Carol Evans, Director of the Voices of Gwynedd, offering Renny to take her course. He loved his experience with the Voices, from singing in the annual Carol Nights, to the Spring Musicale, to performing at Longwood Gardens.

In the classroom, Renny had an extremely positive experience.

I felt like a person and not a number.

To this day, Renny remembers classmate Dawn Burkhart who reached out and offered him support. Dawn helped Renny study, taught him how to write papers, and taught him how to keep himself organized.

“She was a huge part of my success at Gwynedd in terms of classes, and I appreciate her to this day,” said Renny.

As part of the education program, Renny completed his student teaching in Souderton School District. Although he loved his experience, he knew he wanted to return to Philly to teach.

“I think that really having an opportunity to come to an urban district like Philly to have that student teaching experience would be a great learning experience. You’ll get to see the diversity, the richness, the love and appreciation that our Philly kids have,” shared Renny.

Renny’s Career in Education

This year marks Renny’s 20th year in the field of education. Fifteen of his twenty years have been spent in the School District of Philadelphia, the first five teaching at an elementary school.

With the growing need for Latino administrators, Renny was accepted into the Academy of Leadership in Philadelphia Schools (ALPS) program. Within the program, Renny was paired with an experienced principal, working full-time at the chosen school. Each Wednesday, program members would return to the district to attend day-long training sessions.

“It was an amazing experience because you got to see the ins and outs, the tasks that principals and assistant principals had to do each day. I felt like I was really prepared to be an administrator,” said Renny.
Before the program ended, Renny was asked to become the Assistant Principal at Hunter Elementary School, the same school he attended as a child. It was a full-circle moment for Renny.

After his time at Hunter Elementary, he was asked and interviewed to take of John B. Stetson Middle School, a school that was on the persistently dangerous school’s list in Philadelphia.

“I was a 30-year old principal and I just couldn’t say no because it was my community,” said Renny.

Renny served as Principal of John B. Stetson for two year before it was turned into a charter school.

“I didn’t want to leave the community because I was already attached to the kids, so I stayed when it became a charter for five years,” Renny shared.

In 2015, Renny came back to the School District of Philadelphia to become the Principal of Kensington High School.

“I had to help the culture turn around there,” said Renny.

After working at Kensington High School for two years, Renny worked in the Cheltenham School District beginning in 2017, and left when the Assistant Superintendent position opened up in Philly.

"I got the opportunity to become an assistant superintendent back home in Philly. To me, this is always home. Philly will always be home for me,” said Renny. “I’m indebted to Philly and I feel like this is where I’m needed most.”

Renny now serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Learning Network Five, in which the majority of schools are located in North Philly where he grew up. In his role, Renny’s in charge of 17 schools, totaling about 8,000 students.

My aspiration is to make sure my students are making the right choices, to make sure they’re receiving an equitable education, and that everybody’s on the same level playing field. My task every day as an assistant superintendent is to make sure that my principals understand that one kid doesn’t have advantage over another because of their circumstance.

From being a teacher, to being a principal, to now being an assistant superintendent, Renny never sleeps. His students have always been, and will continue to be, his number one priority.

“As assistant superintendent, I think about all 8,000 kids every night, making sure they have a meal, making sure they have a roof over their head, and making sure they’re safe,” Renny said. “At the end of the day, I want to make sure they get a great education, the education they deserve.”

Why Education?

“I got into education because I wanted to impact change. I wanted to inspire young people,” said Renny. “Unless I retire, I would never leave education because I think that it’s the single most important job.”

As the youngest of five children, Renny was around kids his entire life.

“What really inspired me was working with kids in my community, and helping to raise my nieces and nephews. That really led me to become an educator,” said Renny.

Despite the struggles the pandemic has brought on for teachers, administrators, and the field of education as a whole, Renny is hopeful for the future.

“I hope that there will be a resurgence one day and that the pendulum will shift back to us having enough teachers and giving the teachers the respect they deserve,” said Renny.

Impacting Change

For Renny, education is all about impacting change. He returned to the School District of Philadelphia to give students opportunities that he didn’t have growing up.

Just giving students the opportunity to see that there is something more than was they see on the news, on social media, and in their community is how we encourage them to see a future.

In his role, Renny seeks to inspire his principals and educators so they have a positive, lasting impact on every student they interact with.

“I think that having highly qualified and highly trained teaches is our goal, but the first thing we need to do is make sure we fill those positions,” said Renny. “Once we fill those positions, making sure we can elevate them, motivate them, and train them to be the best they can for our kids, then I think we’re going in the right direction.”

When asked how his teaching experience has translated into his administrative roles, Renny said, “My teaching experience in my whole motivation. The way I interacted with my students as a teacher is the same way I interact with them now as an assistant superintendent.”

Renny doesn’t just aim to inspire change amongst his students, but also holds the responsibility of motivating and inspiring his teachers and principals. With every email he sends, Renny ends it by saying, “If you didn’t hear it today and if nobody told you, I love you all very much.”

This simple, humble act of kindness depicts Renny’s dedication to everyone he interacts with.

Feature on CBS3

In September 2022, shortly after beginning his new role as Assistant Superintendent, Renny was featured in a CBS3 segment walking children from Hunter Elementary School to class.

“I was only supposed to walk with one kid, but when one kid heard I was walking with them, a whole bunch came to walk with me. They loved it,” Renny shared.

Having witnessed violence on the streets of Philly himself, he wanted his students to feel safe and protected and they made their way to school.

I needed my kids to know that I really cared and that I was intentional about being their teacher, being their principal, being their assistant superintendent.

When asked why he felt the need to walk with students as an administrator, Renny said, “A lot of people feel that this is a position of power and they just need to sit at their desk and call it a day. But if you’re not really about the kids, then this job isn’t for you.”

Renny’s dedication and support does not end there. As a teacher and as a principal, Renny would gather the names and addresses of his students at the beginning of each year, paying each student a visit to say hello and meet their parents. He would often visit just to have a simple cup of coffee.

Even though he is in an administrative role now, impacting thousands of students across the School District of Philadelphia, Renny understands the importance of connecting with the students.

“I just have to be around kids because they’re what give me my motivation and they give me the energy to keep doing this work.”