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Bethel Park School Board approves administrative appointments, promotion

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Bethel Park School Board has approved the appointment of Brett Slezak as the district’s new director of technology and David Muench as director of student support services.

The board also promoted Sarah Shue to the position of supervisor of special education.

Slezak comes to Bethel Park from Allegheny Valley School District, where he served as a health and physical education teacher for seventh through 12th grades before becoming the district’s technology integrator.

Brett Slezak

In 2020, the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference, a statewide event that provides quality programs focused on technology in the educational field, named Slezak as technology administrator of the year.

Slezak holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of Pittsburgh and has spent most of his career finding ways to integrate technology and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics learning in unexpected ways. His achievements include co-creating Rachel’s Neighborhood STEAM garden.

He also has piloted a student wellness program that provides FitBits for every freshman and sophomore student, encouraging them to be active both in and out of school. Additionally, he taught middle and high school students to prototype wearable technology and build robots in health and physical education classes.

Muench is a longtime district administrator and Bethel Park resident. His career began at Bethel Park in 1999 as an emotional support teacher, coach and sponsor. In those roles, Muench demonstrated excellent teaching skills, innovation, creativity, initiative and connections with students.

He then was promoted to dean of sudents at the high school, where he wrote and implemented new attendance policies, connected families to more support services and built strong workplace and community partnerships throughout the district. More recently, he has served in two key leadership roles at the district level. As Bethel Park High School assistant principal, Muench oversaw teacher evaluation, student discipline and scheduling.

Since 2005, Muench has served as Independence Middle School principal, developing programs for providing personal electronic learning devices for every student and redesigned support structure in mathematics, English and reading.

Muench earned his bachelor of science degree in education from Slippery Rock University and his master’s in school leadership from the University of Pittsburgh. He also earned his superintendent’s letter of eligibility from California University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

He is enrolled in California’s doctoral program, with intended completion in summer 2022.

Sarah Shue

Shue has been with Bethel Park since 2018, serving as assistant director of special education with a special focus on supporting the district’s elementary schools. Prior to Bethel Park, she was a special education teacher in Canon-McMillan School District.

A 2005 graduate of James Madison University, Shue earned a master of arts degree in elementary and special education from Chatham University in 2008 and her doctorate of education with a focus on emotional and behavioral disorders from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018.

“These are impressive and accomplished educational leaders who bring us valuable experiences and an unyielding commitment to excellence,” Superintendent James Walsh said. “I feel most fortunate to have them on our Bethel Park team. We look forward to locking arms with them as we pursue our vision to be best in class in all areas.”

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