Students in the Leechburg Area middle and high schools may be meeting their new principal for the first time, but for Tyler Vargo, he’s coming home.
The Leechburg Area alum not only graduated from the high school but taught social studies there for nine years before heading to the Knoch School District, where he is the acting middle school principal. He has been with Knoch for the past 12 years, serving as a high school assistant principal for four of them and the middle school principal for the past eight years.
“I always say I have a vested interest in the (Leechburg) community,” Vargo said. “I think small schools and the ability to build those relationships, get to know the kids — I think that’s where education is at its best.”
He said he is excited to be coming back and couldn’t pass on the opportunity to work in the community where he lives and where his children go to school.
“I hope to have a positive impact and be able to contribute to the great things they’re doing there,” he said. “I felt like that was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. I would feel bad if I’d passed that up and didn’t give it a try to come back.”
The school board approved Vargo, 43, for the position during its April meeting. He will fill the principal position left open by Doug Rodgers, who opted to teach at the middle and high schools. Both men will begin their new positions June 1.
“I can’t speak for the rest of the board, but the reason why I had a ‘yes’ vote for him was because of his experience, diverse background in education and administrative work, and the ideas and solutions he brought to the table,” said school board member Andrew Pallus.
After being away from the district for the past 12 years, Vargo said he will approach his role from a teamwork perspective. He said he hopes to establish leadership roles for students to give them a voice.
“I think, for that first year, we’ll see what’s happening and decide what things we want to expand upon,” Vargo said. “I’m a very relationship- and teamwork-oriented person that likes to share leadership. Hopefully, I can hear from teachers and create a platform to move forward to benefit students in the best way possible.”
Vargo has more than 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator.
“I am excited to have Dr. Vargo join our team and look forward to starting the new school year with him on our administrative team,” Interim Superintendent David Keibler said.
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.