Penn Hills School District Names Dr. John Mozzocio its Next Superintendent

Penn Hills School District Names Dr. John Mozzocio its Next Superintendent

November 8, 2023 – Penn Hills – At a special voting meeting on November 8, the Penn Hills School District Board of School Directors named Dr. John Mozzocio its new superintendent by a vote of 8-1.

With more than 20 years of experience in public education, Dr. Mozzocio currently serves as the Director of Pupil Services and Special Programs Supervisor at the New Castle Area School District in Lawrence County. Throughout his tenure he has overseen special education services and other programs for students. He has spearheaded the development of new programming through competitive grant writing while supervising a variety of education personnel.

“I am sincerely humbled and thankful to the Penn Hills School District for giving me an opportunity to serve its students, staff and community,” Dr. Mozzocio said. “I am excited to open this next chapter of my career and look forward to developing collaborative relationships with our parents, educators and community partners.”

Dr. Mozzocio earned his doctorate in education from Youngstown State University in 2021. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Clarion University as well as a master’s degree from Slippery Rock University.

During his career, Dr. Mozzocio has served as a school building principal, a math/reading coach and a special education teacher. He had the privilege of teaching at the university level as an adjunct professor at Slippery Rock University’s College of Education. It was these experiences, plus Mozzocio’s dedication to public education, that led to the board’s selection.

“We can’t wait for Dr. Mozzocio to start and bring Penn Hills all together. He has a great resume and we’re so looking forward to him giving us all new ideas, and I know that he will work great with the administration that we have,” said Penn Hills School District board president Erin Vecchio. “I appreciate Dr. Mozzocio and I appreciation everything that he is going to do for us.”

Dr. Mozzocio will have a starting salary of $178,000.00.

Dr. Mozzocio will take over for Ms. Dawn Golden, who has been serving as interim superintendent since September. Prior to that, Dr. Nancy Hines served as the district’s Superintendent of Schools.

For more information, contact Stephanie Strauss at sstrau@phsd.org.