‘It’s home for me’: Penn-Trafford assistant superintendent bids district farewell after 26 years

For the first time in 10 years, Scott Inglese did not wake up to an alarm or prepare to walk the hallways of the Penn-Trafford School District administration building.

Inglese, 56, of Penn Township, has worked at the district for 26 years as a teacher, principal and — for the past decade — assistant superintendent.

He guided the district through the uncertainty of the pandemic as covid coordinator and oversaw a yearlong $32 million renovation project at the high school in 2015 — which included installing a second gymnasium and a fitness center, upgrading the auditorium and renovating classrooms.

But Inglese’s journey at Penn-Trafford began long before he accepted a science teacher position at the high school in 1992. The Trafford native grew up in the district, playing football and competing for the wrestling team in high school. He graduated in 1985.

“It’s home for me,” he said of the Penn-Trafford community.

Inspired by his father’s love of science, Inglese pursued a teaching certificate in earth and space science and general science from Clarion University — now called Pennsylvania West Clarion.

He recalls a 1972 road trip with his family out West, where his father studied rocks and minerals and worked with a Boy Scout camp. His family drove out to California and spent much of the monthlong trip in New Mexico, he said.

“Me and my brother (were) in the back seat fighting the whole way,” he joked.

Inglese began his teaching career in Virginia, but he returned to his hometown to work as a science teacher at Penn-Trafford for three years while pursuing a master’s degree in school administration.

After two years at the Ligonier Valley School District and four years as assistant principal and athletic director for Greater Latrobe High School, Inglese made his final return to Penn-Trafford in 2001.

He served as the high school principal for 13 years before shifting to the assistant superintendent position. He was the district’s third high school principal, following the 1972 merger of Penn Joint and Trafford high schools.

“I lived in Penn-Trafford. This is my roots. I bleed green and gold,” he said. “It was an honor and a privilege to (come back), so I had to jump on the opportunity.”

Inglese is proud of how the district has evolved over the years.

“Growing up in the district in the 70s — it was pretty much a rural district,” he said. “It’s grown from a rural district to a suburban, bedroom community.”

Inglese helped guide the district to success, said Superintendent Matthew Harris, who worked alongside him for 17 years.

“We are currently (at the) top of Westmoreland County, top of the state, in academics, and we also did that with a very low-cost spending,” Harris said. “(Inglese) has helped me with that, so that’s a lot of success.”

Penn-Trafford’s PSSA and Keystone exam scores from November ranked 21st out of 606 school districts in the state, according to SchoolDigger — a website that ranks schools based on student exam scores provided by the state Department of Education.

SchoolDigger ranked the high school’s exam scores 17th out of 674 high schools in the state for the 2022-2023 school year. The high school spent $16,474 per student that academic year, according to SchoolDigger.

As covid coordinator, Inglese tracked the number of cases in the district and worked with the school nurse to decide whether to keep the school open, Inglese said. He monitored state mandates for mask wearing and social distancing, communicating procedural changes with students and parents.

“It was a lot of work,” Inglese said. “It really consumed a lot of our time, a lot of our efforts at that point in time.”

Inglese helped the district develop a return-to-school safety plan by the start of the 2020-2021 academic year, in accordance with state guidelines, Harris said.

“He took it very seriously, in developing our plan,” Harris said. “We were one of the few school districts that went back in full the first year, and he really helped with that.”

Former Leechburg Area Superintendent Tiffany Nix, who resigned from that post in December, took over for Inglese in February.

“I think the district is going to be in good hands. Tiffany is a really smart administrator,” Inglese said. “Her challenge is just getting to know and understand the district and how we do things and how we operate.”

To kick off his retirement, Inglese has several trips planned in Alaska, Mexico and the Florida Keys. He looks forward to spending more time with his family — his wife, Anna, who retired from Penn Middle School nearly two years ago; his daughter Haylee, 25, a graphic designer; and his son, Daniel, 21, a senior at Penn State.

After about 12 years working with Inglese as superintendent and assistant superintendent, Harris has mixed feelings about Inglese’s retirement.

“I’m happy for him but very sad at the same time, because we had a very good working relationship,” Harris said. “I knew that he had the best interest of the kids and the community.”