Before starting her job as superintendent of West Allegheny School District this summer, Jerri Lynn Lippert is performing a demanding balancing act.
Lippert is extraordinarily busy, splitting her time between coming up with ideas for improving a school district she rushed to learn about in recent months and finalizing a transition plan for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, where she is the chief academic officer.
“Your mind … it goes back and forth,” said Lippert, who was appointed by the West Allegheny School Board as the district's superintendent last week.
Lippert, 41, will replace John DiSanti, who is set to retire on July 1 after serving as superintendent for nine years. She will be the first woman in the district's top administrative post.
In addition to education, Lippert has a flair for competitive sports. That includes powerlifting, in which she holds world records.
“I'm intense,” said Lippert, noting that in her 30s with her 5-foot, 2-inch frame she could bench press 374 pounds, more than twice her body weight at the time.
She still lifts weights every morning. “I don't pick up dumbbells less than 70 pounds,” she said.
That vigor has carried over to her work in education.
She started work in Pittsburgh schools in 2002, after teaching high school health and physical education in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District. She climbed the rungs of the district's administration and was promoted to chief academic officer in 2009.
Her transition from an urban school district with about 24,500 students at 55 schools to a suburban one with 3,300 students at five buildings will bring new responsibilities.
Among them will be overseeing contract negotiations with teachers there in January, and renovations totaling $29 million at Wilson and McKee elementary schools. Also, 19 West Allegheny teachers and three administrators are to retire at the end of the current school year, as part of an incentive program the district offered.
“It's a crucial position,” school board President Debbie Mirich said of the superintendent's job.
She described the interview process as “intense,” involving a preliminary round of interviews that included three school board members and two administrators. Later, the entire nine-member school board asked questions of applicants.
School officials considered several other candidates, Mirich said. But she concluded that Lippert was an “excellent fit,” saying that besides sharing ideas about improving test scores and teacher training during interviews, she appeared enthusiastic and congenial. Lippert's starting salary will be $155,000, under a four-year contract.
Lippert will be missed at Pittsburgh Public Schools, spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said.
“She has contributed so much to the district” in terms of helping to shape curriculum and developing special and early childhood education programs, Pugh said. For four years, she ran a certification program for principals.
Lippert said she was drawn to West Allegheny, which includes Findlay, North Fayette and Oakdale, because of its academic policies and focus on promoting racial equality, among other things. Lippert earned a doctorate degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh. Beyond establishing ties in the community, she said, she plans to study student performance trends and develop a five-year financial plan for the district.
Jake Flannick is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.
