Lindenwold School 5

My name is Sandra Martinez-Preyor, and I am the Principal of Lindenwold School Five. I have had the privilege of serving in this position for the last ten years, and I will be starting my eleventh year at School Five. I will also begin my twenty-sixth year in the field of education this September. Prior to accepting the principalship at Lindenwold School Five, I was a Vice Principal in a large high school in a district in northern New Jersey, as well as a Supervisor of Bilingual/English as a Second Language/World Languages for seven years. 

As Principal of School Five, my primary focus has been student academic growth, parent involvement by way of communication in both English and Spanish, and building a collaborative and positive school culture for all stakeholders in our school. School Five staff is a hard-working faculty that continues to keep the needs of ALL of our students and their families at the forefront of all they do.   

On a personal level, I am a married mother of two girls who also attended School Five. My oldest daughter began her first year of college in August 2023, and my youngest daughter will be starting her junior year of high school. Prior to beginning my family, I earned two Masters of Science in Education degrees - one in Bilingual Education & Special Education in 2000, and another in Administration & Supervision in 2002. Most recently, I earned my doctoral degree in Educational Leadership. I am a proud life-long learner, and believe that each of us must reach our full potential and our education prepares us to do so. 

Hello, my name is Michelle Bernardino and I began working in the Lindenwold School District when I was 15 years old. At the time, there was a summer youth program at the elementary schools, and I was hired to do custodial work. I cleaned the classrooms during those summer months. It was at that time I decided I wanted to be a teacher. School just felt like home to me. After graduating from Eastern High School, I attended Rutgers University and Glassboro State College, now known as Rowan University. I earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Glassboro State. I began working in the Lindenwold School District 37 years ago as a first grade teacher. I have held numerous positions in the district teaching pre-first, third grade, and fourth grade. I have also been a Basic Skills teacher, as well as the Basic Skills Coordinator. Seven years ago, I became the Mathematics Coach at School Five. About four years ago, I enrolled in the University of Delaware to pursue a graduate degree. In May 2021, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology. After receiving my master's degree, I enrolled in Rowan University and earned my supervision certificate.  I had always aspired to be an administrator and this aspiration came true because I was appointed the Basic Skills Supervisor at School Five. All of my experiences in the Lindenwold School District have been rewarding.  I feel privileged to have opportunities to grow professionally in the Lindenwold School District. It is an honor to work with the best teachers and administrators whose primary interest is the students they serve.

On a personal level, I have been married for 35 years and have three children, two boys and one girl. I am also blessed with two grandchildren, a boy and a girl. They both light up my world and bring a smile to my face each day. My grandson is in first grade this year and my granddaughter starts pre-school. We are all super excited to see what she does as she embarks on her educational journey. In my spare time I love to read, travel, go to the gym and spend time at the Jersey shore. I recently began taking golf lessons and am looking forward to the day when I can get my score under a three-digit number. I have added pickleball to my repertoire and hope to play often.