Bethel Park district promotes Sloan, Grimm
The Bethel Park School District recently announced two personnel changes.
Dan Sloan transitions from athletic director to a new role within the district where he will supervise facilities and operations while Laura Grimm has been promoted from Sloan’s assistant to the AD position.
As AD, Sloan managed a large department that featured 27 varsity, 14 junior varsity, four junior high, and 15 middle school teams. He also oversaw one of the most significant individual budgets in the school district. He will lean on that experience in his new role as he oversees district facility rentals and reservations, and helps to coordinate transportation efforts.
In May, Dr. Mark Korcinsky was elevated to his newly created role as assistant superintendent for facilities and operations. The veteran administrator, with an extensive background in logistics, soon realized that he needed a strong manager to help facilitate some of the changes that continue to be made. He identified Sloan as the ideal candidate to fill that role.
“For this role, we needed someone who understands the school district and the key role logistics and planning plays in ensuring everything is functioning properly,” said Korcinsky. “I can’t think of a more well-suited person for that responsibility than someone who has spent almost every day for the past decade doing just that for our student-athletes.”
Meanwhile, Grimm becomes the school district’s sixth full-time athletic director. Additionally, she is just the second woman to hold the post.
Grimm served as Sloan’s assistant for the past two years. Before that, the Bethel Park resident was the athletic director at Ringgold School District for six years, where she helped lead the program to several major accomplishments, including the 2018 Class 4A state baseball championship, WPIAL and PIAA diving championships, and several other runners-up for WPIAL title. She was also, for a time, Ringgold’s girls basketball coach.
“Laura was a tremendous student-athlete herself, and she was also an experienced athletic administrator when we first hired her,” said Superintendent Dr. James Walsh. “In her time here, she has leaned on that experience and has been instrumental in helping to guide the athletics department through some very challenging issues.
“We are very fortunate to have the ideal candidate for the job already on staff and fully immersed in our programs and student-athletes.”
A 2010 graduate of Colgate University, she played basketball for the Raiders.
She excelled scholastically at Serra Catholic where she holds the Eagles’ career records for points (1,940), 3-point field goals (283), steals (391), and assists (497). She also led Serra Catholic to the 2005 Class A girls basketball state championship. Grimm was named first-team all-state honors in 2005 and 2006 and the 2005 Associated Press Pennsylvania State Player of the Year.
In June, Grimm was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame.