Karen Geller

Dr. Karen Geller is a retired Associate Professor who taught “Supervision and Evaluation” and “K-12 Principal Certification”. She is also a retired Principal of Upper Merion Area Middle School, where she wrote the Blue Ribbon application, earning her school Blue Ribbon status. She is a leader in character education, who utilized her strong curricular and administrative skills to inspire and motivate her staff to integrate values throughout the school environment and across the curriculum. Her school was recognized as a National School of Character in 2010 as well as a Johns Hopkins National Network of Partnership Schools in 2011. 

Dr. Geller has presented professional development that has assisted many schools and districts nationwide to embrace character education programs. She has been a guest speaker and consultant nationwide to further social emotional learning. She served on the Education Advisory Committee for Character.org and was a site visitor for the National Schools of Character Program. She co-chaired a White Paper on “Integrating Common Core and Character Education: Why it is essential and How It Can Be Done.” This was presented at the Character Education Partnership Conference in Washington, D.C.
 

Dr. Geller has received such prestigious awards as the National Community of Caring Outstanding Administrator Award, The Lifetime Achievement Award, the Optimist Partner in Education Award, the Martin Luther Humanitarian Award, and the Rotarian Carl A. Beck Humanitarian Award. She was honored by Senator Connie Williams for speaking before Pennsylvania’s Congress regarding Upper Merion Middle School’s exemplary No Bullying Plan. She is a published writer in the areas of Common Core, Prosocial Learning and Bullying. Dr. Geller’s case study “School Climate Reform at Upper Merion Middle School” is published in The Handbook of Pro-Social Education, Volume 1.

She instituted a One to One Laptop Technology Program in her school, and in 2017 she wrote “The Importance of Teaching Digital Citizenship: A Character Development Essential” which was published in the book: Integrating Prosocial Learning with Education Standards. Now that she is retired she works charitably with the American Legion, Fisher House, the Brigantine Farmers Market the Green Team, and she writes grants for the Elks. She writes for 2 newspapers. She is a Eucharistic Minister in her church and she loves to read and do Zumba.