DOWNINGTOWN, PA — The Downingtown Area School District installed new principals at three schools for the 2026-27 academic year, reshuffling leadership at Downingtown High School East and Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center while recruiting an elementary school administrator from a neighboring district.
Matthew Barr will lead Downingtown High School East after serving three years as principal of Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center. Lauren Fiske, previously an assistant principal at Marsh Creek, will succeed him there.
Kelly Harrison joins the district as principal of Beaver Creek Elementary School after serving as principal of Penn London Elementary School in the Avon Grove School District.
Barr has spent his entire 23-year education career in Downingtown, working as a special education teacher, coach and assistant principal before leading Marsh Creek.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from West Chester University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Immaculata University.
Fiske joined the district in 2011 and spent 13 years teaching gifted education at Beaver Creek, Shamona Creek and Springton Manor elementary schools. She subsequently served more than two years as an assistant principal at Marsh Creek.
“Sixth grade is a year of profound transformation, and our duty as educators is to provide a safe launchpad where academic rigor meets deep empathy,” Fiske stated.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Kutztown University and a master’s degree in educational leadership, management and policy from Seton Hall University.
Harrison previously worked as a teacher and assistant principal in Avon Grove before leading Penn London Elementary. She also lives in the Downingtown district and is a district parent.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Penn State University, a master’s degree from Wilkes University and principal certification from Cabrini University.
Superintendent Robert O’Donnell stated that the three principals bring “strong instructional leadership and a commitment to helping every student develop the confidence and skills needed for future success.”
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