Walking through the principal’s office with those green tinted windows can be intimidating, but that intimidation is eased by the smile of Mrs. Denise Leach. As the secretary to building principal Mr. Burt Hynes, she is at the crossroads of almost all North Penn business – be it student, teacher, parent, or staff business –  and she has the daunting task of reading through the principal’s e-mails, (it’s not all fan mail!). Yet what most makes this North Penn alum such an asset is her compassion for the struggling students she deals with and her interest in charity work for people fighting cancer or people with special needs. Through it all, Mrs. Leach is undoubtedly a central component to making North Penn High School run smoothly,

An initial glance into her office immediately reveals the amount of work that Mrs. Leach needs to do, represented well by the piles of paperwork lining the entire room. Amidst the paperwork though, cheery pictures of her sons graduating, and even one of her boss dressed up as the Mad Hatter from last year’s fashion show create a hall of interesting North Penn memories, serving as a juxtaposition to the more onerous tasks amidst the mountains of papers.”There is never a dull moment,” Leach states.  

Names are constantly being repeated around the office, and now with three and a half years at the job she is “more comfortable with the kids and the situations that they are going through.” Although she did not plan on working at the high school she attended, Leach is glad she has, starting as a secretary for Inglewood Elementary and later a private school in Maryland.

There is a clear difference from the private pre k-12 school which totaled around 700 students to North Penn’s 3,000 from only three combined grades. Although it is difficult to forge relationships with such a vast student body, Leach “made a point to get to know teachers.” Although Mrs. Leach does not know every teacher personally and it is difficult since she is mostly in the office, she strives to recognize faces and say hello.

What exactly does the job secretary to the principal entail? Mrs. Leach must manage the calendar (including Mr. Hynes’ many meetings), write out the paperwork for substitutes, send reports of misbehavior across town, and oversee yearly evaluations, to name just a few tasks. In order to prepare for taking over for Mrs. Sadie Beyer (previous secretary to the principal), Mrs. Leach came to the high school for two weeks in the mornings before her elementary school job and trained with Mrs. Beyer, where she quickly learned the scope of the job.

The most challenging aspect is “keeping up with the volume of e-mails because between her account and the principal’s the e-mails are endless. Although she acknowledges that technology is helpful in that students and parents can easily access the school, they want information fast. In the midst of all of the chaos, “[Mrs. Leach and Mr. Hynes] find the time to laugh; [Mr. Hynes] can turn things around.”

Although the job can be taxing, the culmination of her hard work is seeing students graduate in June. “Some kids are really struggling when they actually graduate.” These success stories keep Leach optimistic. “I enjoy watching them grow up”, she states. She feels as though it is amazing to see kids in elementary school and how fast time seems to pass by before former students are at the high school. 

North Penn undoubtedly is a large part of Mrs. Leach’s life, yet in her free time she enjoys spending time with her family the most. In Maryland, the family goes out on kayaks during the summer. In addition, Mrs. Leach is involved with her youth group at Wentz United Church of Christ. The youth group goes on many fun excursions, including beach retreats in Wildwood. Leach is also heavily involved in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life which occurs in June in Crawford stadium. This 24 hour event has fun activities for students who come back every year to participate. Leach is in charge of logistics, including everything from “securing tents to toilet paper rolls.” As the sun goes down, candles symbolizing people fighting cancer light up the warm night sky. This walk is even more special to Leach who is a skin cancer survivor. She has been involved with the walk for nine years.

Leach’s philanthropy does not stop there. She has a niece in the special education program, and she cares deeply about how the students are treated. Leach is delighted that North Penn students do not make fun of those students with special needs,  and she praises their efforts in Special Olympics for so many years.

Seeing the student’s care “touches my heart,” Leach adds.  Much of what goes on at North Penn High School at some point passes through the hands of Mrs. Denise Leach, but amid the volumes of work, her welcoming presence never seems to wane, and we are fortunate to have her as such a kindhearted member of the NP family.