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South Fayette hires new superintendent to replace Rondinelli

By Jacob Calvin Meyer staff Writer jmeyer@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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South Fayette’s search for a new superintendent is over.

The school board voted at its Nov. 28 meeting to hire Kenneth Lockette, who is currently the assistant superintendent for the Avonworth School District. Lockette will replace Bille Rondinelli, who has served in the role since 2009 and is retiring at the end of the calendar year.

“I am extremely honored and excited to be appointed the next superintendent at the South Fayette Township School District,” Lockette said in a district press release. “South Fayette has been a leader in the region and in the nation with innovative educational practices, and I look forward to supporting all the great things that are in place and advance others, particularly in the area of relevant learning and career readiness.”

Prior to serving as assistant superintendent, Lockette was the high school principal at Avonworth from 2006-2015. With more than 20 years as an educator, Lockette began as an English and theater teacher at the middle and high school levels.

Before coming to Pennsylvania, Lockette worked in Baltimore County in Maryland as a middle school assistant principal. He also worked six years in Kazakhstan as an educator, two of which were with the Peace Corps.

As a member of the Remake Learning Network and Digital Promise’s League of Innovative Schools, Lockette said in an interview after his hiring that he’s familiar with the “type of work and innovation that’s come from South Fayette under Dr. Rondinelli’s leadership.”

“(I am) very familiar with all of the great work there,” Lockette said. “The vision that South Fayette has with the innovation is very much in line with my thinking. It’s definitely a great opportunity to work in not only a regionally known district, but a nationally known district.”

Along with continuing Rondinelli’s innovation and STEAM initiatives at South Fayette, Lockette said the arts is an area he is passionate about.

A project at Avonworth he’s especially proud of is the Pittsburgh Galleries Project, in which the school district partnered with Pittsburgh museums as a way to teach students about art.

“I’m a great proponent of the arts, and I know that’s very important at South Fayette School District as well,” Lockette said. “I think that art integration piece needs to continue.”

Lockette said he won’t know his main initiatives as superintendent until he starts in January, but, in general, he said many of them are already being done at South Fayette.

“I think the world has changed and schools in general have been slow to change, and South Fayette and Avonworth are exceptions. But I think one of the things I bring through the experiences that I’ve had is a global perspective and preparing students for a bigger world outside of where they currently live,” Lockette said. “(I want to) really focus on career-readiness and relevant skills, putting kids in situations where they need to think critically and put them in real-world situations. A lot of that I know is already occurring, but I hope to strengthen that as I come there.”

The board voted 5-2 to hire Lockette as superintendent, with Todd Petrillo and president Leonard Fornella voting no.

“My vote is no, but that is not intended as a reflection of Dr. Lockette,” Fornella said during the meeting. “We had many, many outstanding candidates for this position. My vote is simply a reflection of my personal preference for another candidate.”

Lockette will start on Jan. 3. His contract will run three and a half years, ending June 30, 2021. As of the vote, an official contract with salary details had not been signed. Rondinelli said she would work with Lockette “to ensure a smooth transition.”

“We want him to be successful and to learn to grow and love the tradition, pride and excellence that is South Fayette,” Rondinelli said in a written statement.

Lockette said he knows he has a big job ahead replacing Rondinelli.

“I’m very honored and humbled to follow her and I know I have big shoes to fill,” he said.

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