Franklin Regional's Piraino named Pa. Superintendent of the Year
Pennsylvania’s school administrators have chosen Franklin Regional’s Gennaro Piraino as the state’s 2019 Superintendent of the Year.
Piraino will receive the award later this week from the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators at a dinner in Harrisburg.
“It affirms all the work that everyone is doing in the district,” Piraino said. “It really validates the hard work our staff does every single day.”
PASA officials pointed to Piraino’s role in developing a college-and-career-ready approach at Franklin Regional, including:
• Offering new courses in engineering, bio-medical science and computer science.
• Fostering partnerships with local colleges that allow FR students to earn college credit and help district families save on tuition costs.
• A partnership with the National Math and Science Initiative that has boosted the number of students earning qualifying scores on Advanced Placement, or AP, exams by 79 percent.
“When you look at the National Math and Science Initiative (partnership), the Project Lead the Way program, those are made possible by our teachers’ willingness to work over the summer, or on weekends, on professional development,” Piraino said. “That shows me they’re really willing to put in the time necessary to make these opportunities available for our students.”
Piraino was appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf as PASA’s representative on the Pennsylvania School Safety and Security Committee, and he also chairs the Westmoreland County Forum for Workforce Development, building partnerships between schools, businesses and local government.
Piraino and 49 other state honorees will be recognized in February at a national school administrators’ conference in Los Angeles.
He gave the lion’s share of credit to district staff.
“Leadership isn’t really about what an individual does,” he said. “It’s about how others in the organization respond and show a willingness to put in the work of making an excellent school district.”
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.
