A few weeks before the opening of the 2025-2026 academic year – the last at the current New Garden Elementary School – Principal Elizabeth Weaver sat down with Landenberg Life to share her excitement about the opening of the new school next August, the key principles of good citizenship that are taught to the school’s students, and a very special dinner group that she’s been a part of for many years.

Landenberg Life: Let’s begin by addressing what is without question the largest talking point of our conversation. At its July 2022 meeting, the Kennett Consolidated School District’s Board of Directors voted to have two schools reimagined: Greenwood Elementary School and New Garden Elementary School, with construction planned between January 2024 and August 2026 with a planned opening for both schools at the start of the 2026-27 academic year.

As we anticipate the opening of the new school, bring the readers of Landenberg Life up to date on the progress of construction on what will be the new New Garden Elementary School.

Elizabeth Weaver: It’s truly amazing. The construction is going extremely well, and I’ve been fortunate to be involved from the very beginning. I sat at the table when the board, the district office team, and our facilities teams were first discussing the idea of building two new elementary schools —talking about location, design, and, most importantly, purpose. Now, to watch it rise right in our own backyard has been incredible. From the leveling of the land to seeing walls go up, and now the details like tiles, flooring, and student cubbies, it’s all coming to life. Since June, I walk through a few times each week, and each time it looks more like a school ready for children. Having been a teacher in the district since 2006 and principal here since 2019, being part of this process is an absolute privilege.

In many respects, the quality of a child’s education is reflective of what and how that child learns and is less dependent on the infrastructure of where she or he leans, but for the children of Landenberg, Avondale and Toughkenamon, having the benefit of this incredible new school will serve as a catalyst in their education, yes? In what way will the infrastructure of this new facility help students learn?

Every conversation about the new school started with one question: “What do our students need as 21st-century learners?” That focus shaped everything. The building features bright, flexible classrooms with small breakout rooms, learning labs, and dedicated spaces for special education and inclusion. It also has a STEM room, art and music spaces, a media center, gym, and even outdoor learning areas like the courtyard and steps leading to the playground. Technology plays a big role too. With a state-of-the-art wireless network and one-to-one laptops, teachers can maximize instructional time and focus on students. The entire design was guided by teachers across disciplines, ensuring the space supports personalized learning and helps every child grow, explore, and succeed.

I keep reading that the future of primary education will continue to rely heavily on STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The pessimist in my fears, however, that with all of this focus on preparing students for a technology-driven world, children will not be given free rein to develop their artistic side. Yes, the world needs engineers and scientists, but it also needs artists and art teachers and sculptors and musicians and writers. How is your school addressing this?

At New Garden Elementary, we work hard to strike a balance. Of course, we want our students prepared for a technology-driven future, but we also make sure they have plenty of opportunities to be creative. Alongside strong STEM instruction, our students participate in art, music, instrumental programs, creative writing, and hands-on projects. The world needs scientists and engineers, and it needs artists, musicians, and writers. For us, technology is a tool that supports teachers and allows teachers to spend their time instructing students. 

Our classrooms are designed for collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking, and we strive to personalize learning so every child can explore their strengths and passions. That balance—between innovation, creativity, and putting students at the forefront of instruction—is what prepares students to succeed in any path they choose.

There is not an educator alive who is unable to point to a teacher or a mentor who helped inspire them to enter education as a career. Who was that person for you?

My mother worked as a secretary at Bishop Ford High School, where most of my siblings and I attended. She worked there for over 30 years, and everybody at the school called her “Ma.” She ran activities. It just felt right to spend my professional career in a school. To this day, when people ask me what I do as a job, I tell them, “I don’t have a job. I go to school every day.” This has become my calling.

Just prior to his start as the principal of Kennett High School, I interviewed your colleague Dr. Lorenzo DeAngelis for this magazine. During our conversation, he said, “The ultimate goal here is to help these kids become good citizens.” What are the edicts, goals and basic principles found in the curriculum at New Garden Elementary School that teach students to become good citizens?

At New Garden Elementary, we guide students in becoming good citizens through our school-wide BARK expectations: Be Kind, Act Responsibly, Respect the School Community, and Keep Safe. These core values are the foundation of our Positive Behavior School lessons. Beginning in the very first week of school, teachers explicitly model and teach what BARK looks like and sounds like in every area of our school — on the bus, in the classroom, the cafeteria, at recess, and in the hallways. Students are recognized and celebrated for demonstrating these behaviors through the BARK Bucks system, where every adult in the school community — teachers, instructional staff, custodial staff, cafeteria staff, and bus drivers — can acknowledge students for positive choices. 

By embedding BARK into our daily routines and lessons, we foster a culture where kindness, responsibility, respect, and safety are not only school expectations but also essential qualities of good citizenship. At New Garden, we emphasize that we are all in this together — building a community where every student feels valued and empowered to contribute.

As we speak, we are only a few weeks away from the start of the 2025-26 academic year. You have been an educator in this school district since 2006, and the principal of New

Garden Elementary School since 2019, so you have experienced several opening days. What do you look forward to most as a new school year starts, and is there any aspect of this coming school year that you are especially anticipating?

The night before the first day of school, there is no sleep but excitement. Right now, it’s quiet here, and I can’t wait for these hallways to be filled again with noise. This is the start of my seventh year as principal, and this is a special year – the last year of this building. This will be the year of celebrating last firsts. We have to recognize them and celebrate them, while at the same time look forward to what next year in the new school holds for us.

I constantly hear from parents who have sent their children through this school that everything about who their children are now has been first funneled through two portals: what they learn at home and what they learn here. A school is a village and it takes everyone, but teachers are perhaps the largest influence on these children.

I believe in our New Garden family, and together we always ask, “What is best for our students?” There’s a genuine spirit of collaboration here, shared across all disciplines, and a deep care among staff for one another, for our students, and for their families. That’s what makes New Garden special. Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog.

What is your favorite spot in Landenberg?

New Garden Township Park, especially when I’m watching our kids play in their KAU softball games.

You host a dinner party and can invite anyone – famous or not, living or not. Who would you want to see around that table?

I’d invite my “Kindergarten Moms.” When my son, now 30, made his very first friends in kindergarten, the five of us moms – the mothers of my son’s friends - formed a bond, too. All these years later, we’re still close, and having them around the table would mean the most to me.

What item can always be found in your refrigerator?

Several types of pasta.

To learn more about New Garden Elementary School, visit www.kcsd.org.