State Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) honored two women for their commitment to their communities.
Susan Thompson and Sharon Snyder were celebrated during a news conference unveiling White’s legislation to declare 2018 the Year of the Woman.
Thompson graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and immediately began teaching. After seven years, she returned to Penn to become a certified guidance counselor. She served as a counselor at Esperanza Charter for three years and moved to Freire Charter High School as a dean and eventually was appointed the head of academics in 2008. In 2012, she helped found Freire Middle School. In 2015, she joined the School District of Philadelphia as an instructional leadership coach. Within a year, she was appointed the interim principal at George Washington High School. Today, she is the principal.
“She has dramatically improved the student and academic environment there, and I’m very happy she is leading the way for the only public high school in my district,” White said. “We are fortunate to have her.”
In 1998, Snyder lost her 2-year-old son, Kyle, after a brave eight-month battle with leukemia. To honor his memory, she started raising money for a fund that blossomed into the Kisses for Kyle Foundation to support and comfort other families with children battling cancer.
“They assisted with everything from mortgage payments to Uber rides to get their children to treatment centers. In 2018, they have helped nearly 1,000 families,” White said. “I thank Sharon for her commitment.” ••
