With promotions of Coiner, DiNapoli, no Penn-Trafford schools share principals

Familiar faces are taking on greater leadership roles this school year at Sunrise Estates and Level Green elementary schools.

Through a restructuring of the Penn-Trafford School District's administrative team, Karin Coiner is welcoming students Aug. 23 as the new principal at Sunrise Estates and Dan DiNapoli started the new year as Level Green's principal.

Both were assistant principals last year at the schools they now lead. Their promotions ensure that every elementary school now has its own principal.

Previously, Sunrise Estates shared a principal with McCullough Elementary and Level Green shared a principal with Harrison Park.

Superintendent Tom Butler said the reorganization enables two outstanding people who have been teachers to concentrate on providing the best educational environment for students.

Coiner and DiNapoli already have begun to set some goals.

Coiner, 35, said she is excited about developing stronger relationships with teachers after spending the past five years split between two buildings. This is her seventh year at Penn-Trafford after teaching math in the Southmoreland, Greensburg Salem and Marion Center school districts.

Coiner said she wants to expand an individualized-instruction model that was developed last year for Sunrise Estates fourth-grade math students to other courses.

In the pilot program, the fourth-grade teachers redesigned the math curriculum so students could determine how they wanted to learn. After taking a pretest, the children were able to choose whether they would prefer to complete lessons in a computer lab or seek small-group or one-on-one instruction.

Coiner said many of the students involved in the program appreciated that they were permitted to learn at their own pace. Sunrise Estates will have student-learning assistants in the classrooms to help the teachers with instruction and supervision of the children.

Starting this fall, third- and fourth-grade classes will have math at the same time, enabling the third-graders to challenge themselves by learning with the older students. Fourth-graders may join a third-grade class if they need a refresher lesson.

"It's a great lifelong skill that the kids are able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and figure out how they can best learn," Coiner said.

Overall, Coiner said, she wants her teachers to be willing to try new ways to present their courses.

"I want to be a support system for them," she said. "I don't want to squelch creative ideas."

DiNapoli, 40, is a 1990 Penn-Trafford graduate who is in his 15th year with the district. He taught fifth grade at Sunrise Estates for 10 years before serving as the assistant principal at Level Green and Harrison Park for the past four years.

DiNapoli said the school plans to start a student-led newsroom that will broadcast morning announcements every day. Students in all grades can volunteer for the program, which will include student interviews and coverage of special events in the school.

Teachers Janna Belavic, Jena Huffman and Charles Baumgarner received a $1,107 grant this year from the Penn-Trafford Community Education Foundation to help with the cost of equipment. The school's PTO also is assisting the project, DiNapoli said.

Taped broadcasts eventually will be available on the district's website.

"It's nice because it gets the parents onto the website and our school into the community so others see what's going on," he said.

DiNapoli also said his staff will focus on establishing a science, technology, engineering and mathematics program in the school.

He said he is looking forward to working with his staff and students in his new job.

"Being around these (staff) people basically my whole career has made this job very enjoyable and being able to help lead the way for children to be successful is very gratifying," he said.