Jun 10, 2019 2 min read

Amy Pfender, who has served as Upper St. Clair School District director of student support services since 2016, has been promoted to assistant to the superintendent.

In her new role, Pfender will oversee the district’s educational program in grades 9 through 12. The move is part of an overall district restructuring plan that was approved by the school board on June 3.

Hired as a special education teacher at Boyce Middle School in August 2005, Pfender became the district’s elementary special education department chairperson in 2009 and the following year ascended to special education curriculum leader. In March 2012, she was appointed assistant middle school principal and was promoted to principal of Boyce Middle School a year later.

Pfender was honored with the 2018 University of Pittsburgh School of Education’s Distinguished Departmental Alumni Award from the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies. In 2015, she earned statewide recognition for her early leadership skills when she received the Wanda McDaniel Honorary Membership Award from the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. The annual award recognizes an aspiring school administrator who demonstrates evidence of great leadership potential.

She earned a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her administrative principal certification, she also holds certifications in K-12 supervisor of curriculum and instruction and K-12 supervisor of special education. She lives in Robinson Township, Washington County, with her husband, Keith, and their school-aged children, Jonah and Emily.

A search for a new director of student support services has begun. Upper St. Clair School District’s student support services department oversees a variety of areas that include school counseling, psychological services, health services, special education, English as a second language and homebound instruction.