On Dec. 29, 2020, the Bethel Park Board of School Directors appointed Dr. James Walsh to be the next superintendent of Bethel Park schools.

Of course, Dr. Walsh isn’t going into this position without knowledge or experience. He recently served as superintendent for the Burgettstown Area School District since 2015. There, he also led the district’s STEAM program, Tier III reading interventions for all grade levels, and even added Maker Spaces throughout the district, which are educational buildings like Creation Labs and Neil Armstrong Middle School’s FABLabs.

Mrs. Pam Dobos, the Bethel Park School District board president, even commented on Walsh’s knowledge on the curriculum design and plans for Bethel Park.

“Dr. Walsh spoke about his familiarity with curriculum and instruction and his vision for Bethel Park,” she said.  “His focused, creative solutions that emphasized collaboration and communication left us all feeling very confident that he is indeed the right leader to take the district to new academic heights.” 

Along with his experience at Burgettstown, Dr. Walsh also was the principal at Jefferson Middle School, a curriculum supervisor at Mt. Lebanon School District, the director of the curriculum and student achievement at Aliquippa School District, and the principal at Hopewell School District. 

To add to that impressive list of accomplishments, Dr. Walsh has taught students in English, Theater and Television Production at the Westlake High School in Maryland and later in Peters Township.

In his personal life, Dr. Walsh is a married father of four residing in Upper St. Clair with degrees from Duquesne University, the University of Maryland and Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Former superintendent Dr. Joseph Dimperio also commented on his successor and the process the school board went through to find him.

“The school district conducted a superintendent search that was thorough, deliberate, and thoughtful,” said Dimperio.  “We carefully considered the feedback we received from our stakeholders including our students, our staff, and our community at large and we are thrilled to have concluded this process with a candidate whose experience and strengths match up so well with the district’s priorities.”

“During our discussions, it became increasingly clear how important the school district is to the entire Bethel Park community and how many growth opportunities remain,” Dr. Walsh said.  “I look forward to locking arms with the many wonderful people already in place and working together every day to help make Bethel Park an even better school district.”

Dr. Walsh will be Bethel Park’s superintendent at a date not specified yet. He will then begin his five-year contract with us. Welcome to the Hawks!

You can find him on the Bethel Park School District’s website here.