Students in the Wyoming Area School District may have noticed new faces wandering their hallways.
Vito Quaglia, who served as secondary principal since 2001, and Dr. Jon Pollard, who served as principal for the kindergarten and primary centers since 2010, recently switched roles.
The switch became effective when students returned from their holiday break this month and both principals are quickly becoming acclimated to their new surroundings.
“It’s been a very nice experience,” said Pollard. “I’ve spent some time talking to the department heads and trying to get a good sense of what goes on in a high school now because I’ve been out of the high school mix now for seven years. I’m trying to get a handle on how everything operates and I’m sure Vito’s having the same experience. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but I don’t think it’s anything so tremendous or out of our wheel house that we can’t get it under control.”
Quaglia and Pollard said they were both approached by the school’s administration staff at the beginning of the school year about the switch and were immediately on board with the idea.
Janet Serino, Wyoming Area School District Superintendent, was unavailable for comment in regards to the purpose of the switch, but issued a statement on the change.
“A change can be good,” she said. “It can be a time to revitalize and renew. New paths can lead to reinvigorating ideas. Both principals have welcomed the opportunity for new challenges and this is an exciting change for all.”
Pollard is no stranger to the high school world as he served as assistant principal at Lake-Lehman Jr./Sr. High School, a business education teacher at Wyoming Valley West and taught Social Studies at John Bartram High School in Philadelphia.
Quaglia taught at Delaware Valley High School, Hanover Area Jr./Sr. High School and served as assistant principal of the Wyoming Area Secondary Center for one year before being named principal.
The elementary level is a new world for him, but Quaglia said he’s been leaning heavily on Pollard for guidance, including how to be the principal for both the primary center and kindergarten center.
“I’m trying to lean on Jon a little bit because he has the experience doing it,” said Quaglia. “You try and have that balance, so whether you try to get in both buildings in one day or a couple days a week I’ll start in one building in the morning and then go to the other in the afternoon and then switch that up. Every day is new, and you don’t want to neglect one for the other and you have to do your best to balance it out.”
Both principals said their students have welcomed them with open arms.
Pollard said he got some high fives his first day at the secondary center from students familiar to him.
“I get the opportunity to see what I impacted during my time at the primary center and I’m seeing that role back in the high school,” he said. “Right now, currently, the senior class was my first group of sixth-graders when I took over at the primary center when it was Tenth Street Elementary.
Pollard and Quaglia look forward to the challenges ahead and hope the new experience will come in handy in the future for bigger opportunities.
“Both of us, and Jon is ahead of me when it comes to superintendency because he has his doctorate, but both of us want to be superintendent someday,” said Quaglia. “I think this kind of move gives us strength on both sides. I think it’s a big resume builder for both us. It makes me a better overall administrator, and I think Jon feels the same.”
