Leopold takes helm in Hempfield
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Andrew Leopold
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Andrew Leopold, the new superintendent in the Hempfield Area School District, began his career as a U.S. and world history teacher.
He had always been interested in history, and, as a youth, saw it being made firsthand in his Homestead neighborhood in the changes wrought by the decline of the steel industry.
"I remember when the mills boomed, and you could not cross the High Level Bridge without seeing the sky glow from steel being poured," Mr. Leopold, 41, recalled.
"Then I remember the entire area being a rust belt when I graduated high school. I saw the direct impact on a lot of my friends' families' lives."
He played football at Steel Valley High School and at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which influenced his career direction.
"I realized I loved to be around people and wanted to help them through teaching and also by coaching football and baseball," he said.
Following college, he taught social studies and coached sports at Indiana Senior High School in Indiana County and then at Gateway Middle School in Monroeville. In 2001, he became principal at the middle school.
He left that district in 2007 to become assistant superintendent for secondary education at Hempfield Area.
In July, the Hempfield Area school board promoted him from assistant superintendent to superintendent to succeed the retiring Terry Foriska. He received a five-year contract, through Sept. 30, 2016, at an annual salary of $122,500.
He is completing his doctoral dissertation through the University of Pittsburgh.
Until Tim Kotch comes to Hempfield Area to be assistant superintendent, Mr. Leopold, of Murrysville, will handle the duties of assistant superintendent and superintendent, overseeing the district's three middle schools, its high school and the alternative education program.
As superintendent, his goals are to increase student achievement and broaden the overall experience students gain in the district.
He wants them not only to be academically proficient but also "well-rounded citizens as they embark on their next endeavor, whether it be college, work or trade school," he said.
First Published October 27, 2011 12:00 am
