Plum School District officials recently appointed Monroeville resident Maria Fajt as Center Elementary’s new principal.

Fajt started this school year as interim principal at the K-4 school.

District officials said former principal Jason Knisely had stepped down to go back in the classroom. He is also listed as the district’s federal programs coordinator.

School board President Michael Caliguiri said Fajt was selected as principal out of 28 candidates.

“Her knowledge of early literacy and ability to impart that knowledge to staff will be a tremendous benefit to our students,” he said. “She has been impressive in all aspects of her work since she came to the district and she is ready to take a more prominent leadership role. She is the right leader at the right time for Center Elementary.”

Fajt, 44, has been with Plum since 2018. She had split time as assistant principal at Holiday Park Elementary and Oblock Junior High for a school year, and then went full-time at Oblock the following year.

“I’m really excited,” Fajt said. “I’ve been in different positions in the district. I’m just so thankful for this opportunity.

“There’s something that’s very special about this building. There are some amazing teachers here, and the students are great. There’s this sense of family and community within the building, and I want to be able to share and shine a light on what all goes on here with the community.”

Fajt also credited her preparedness to Oblock Principal Ashley Boyers, who was like a mentor to her.

“Working with him has really prepared me to take on this role,” Fajt said. “I don’t know that I would feel as confident and as knowledgeable as I do had I not had the opportunity to work with him.”

Her starting salary is $110,000.

Background

Fajt earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

She earned a master’s in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a master’s in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.

Fajt was a teacher and academic facilitator for the School District of Palm Beach County, Fla. There she assisted in raising student performance at two elementary schools.

She also worked for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for nearly 10 years serving as a dean of students, senior reach teacher and academic facilitator.

She moved back to Pittsburgh to be closer to family and served as a literacy academic coach in Pittsburgh Public Schools before coming to Plum.

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of really good experiences in the South, and I think that I’ve learned a lot that I wanted to bring to the north,” she said. “There’s a very different way that instruction and teaching works in the South. I think that we’re heading in that direction, and a lot of the things that we’re doing are aligning to that.”

One of transitions Fajt wants to continue is increasing professional development and data analysis during the regular school day, and creative use of staff.

Some districts have professional development days, during which there is no school.

Family life

Fajt grew up in Irwin and graduated from Hempfield Area High School in 1996.

As the oldest daughter of Bob and Tonie Lander, the future educational administrator learned leadership skills dealing with her siblings, Mitchell and Malorie.

“They would tell you this position is fitting because I used to boss them around quite a bit,” Fajt joked. “Apparently they think (being principal) is a good role for me. I’ve been very fortunate and have had a very supportive family. We’re brought up to (believe) whatever you do just do it 100% and be anything you want.”

Their father is a retired Duquesne Light worker and mother is a former accountant.

Fajt said she always loved school and decided on an educational career while in college.

“I’ve always been very drawn to education,” she said. “I like to learn. I think education is really a tool that I’ve seen is able to elevate people out of their circumstances. If you can get yourself educated, I think that it allows for you to kind of break a cycle, sometimes that we see, is established in families. I think that it’s an opportunity to empower students and kind of take ownership of their future.”

Future plans

Fajt said she would like to develop a handicapped accessible and sensory sensitive playground at Center.

Pivik Elementary developed such a place in 2018 with the help of KaBOOM! and hundreds of volunteers.

KaBOOM! is a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of children, particularly those growing up in poverty in America. They have built several playgrounds in Mon Valley communities since 2007.

Fajt would also like to see more community engagement and parental involvement, likely through the school’s multi-tiered system of support or MTSS.

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