Quaker Valley School District welcomes new police officer, other personnel

Quaker Valley School District officials have chosen a retired state trooper as Osborne Elementary’s newest protector.

Cory Zelenak of Aliquippa was named new school resource officer.

He was chosen out of eight candidates due to his extensive experience and previous work at Rochester Area School District, according to Quaker Valley Police Chief Aaron Vanatta.

“Cory’s an excellent choice because of his background and his training,” the chief said. “For the last year, he’s been the chief of school police and the safety and security coordinator for Rochester in Beaver County. He brings a wealth of knowledge and has the school experience k-12. With Rochester being such a small school district, he was able to interface with all the kids. … I think that will serve us well.”

Zelenak, 52, served as a Hopewell Township officer prior to joining Pennsylvania State Police.

“There’s something about being part of an accredited recognized agency,” he said.

Zelenak was a trooper for 25 years and retired from the Butler station as corporal in August 2023. Zelenak joined Rochester shortly thereafter.

“An opportunity came my way and it seemed like that was a very good opportunity to take advantage of,” Zelenak said. “Quaker Valley is nationally recognized for their achievements. Someone like me is drawn to an organization like that — like I was for PSP.

“The best thing about being a school resource officer is mentoring and having relationships with the kids. Fostering those relationships. Getting them to see a police officer in a different light rather than out on the streets. Hopefully, making a good impact and a lasting impression on them.”

The Beaver County native and 1990 Hopewell High School grad takes over for Lauren Porupsky, who left in early August.

Quaker Valley’s other school resource officers have worked rotating shifts so all schools had coverage in Porupsky’s absence.

Vanatta said Zelenak was also recommended by David Watts, a fellow retired state trooper turned QVSD middle school resource officer.

Zelenak’s starting salary is $63,550. His start date is Oct. 21.

He was formally hired at a school board meeting Sept. 24.

Other personnel moves

Alos here then was new high school technology engineering teacher Mike Santucci of the North Hills.

Santucci will take over for Matthew Dado. Dado has been with Quaker Valley for a few years and provided students with some real-world experience working with clients through his computer-aided design class.

Santucci, 41, said he is feeling good about the new opportunity.

“I’m excited to start this new adventure,” he said. “I’ve worked a little over 18 years at Highlands High School. Had a lot of really good experiences there trying to connect high school kids to future careers, especially in the trades areas and also engineering aspect pursuing higher education. I think I have a lot to offer and am excited to get started.”

Santucci began his career at Highlands in 2006. He is the current technology department chair.

He has taught engineering, graphic design, construction technology, robotics and other related skills.

“In high school, I was more of a tactile learner,” Santucci said. “Being able to build projects with my hands, see things through. Working in different labs was always a fun thing for me. I also had good relationships with my tech-ed teachers and with a bunch of my teachers in high schools.

“As I built those relationships with my teachers I thought, there’s a whole lot of other people out there like myself who maybe not be your standard learner that need that guidance. That was how I got involved (in education).”

Santucci plans to start his new job mid-November. The starting salary is $91,264.

He will be entering at the high school year’s second 12-week technology education rotation.

“This is a little bit different starting mid-year,” Santucci said. “Typically, you have at least a couple weeks before school you can plan things out. This will sort of be ‘giddy-up. Here we go.’”

He said Quaker Valley’s tech education curriculum is under review this year, and new state Department of Education standards are expected to be adopted soon.

“I’m in a really unique situation where I can use this year as sort of a gauge to see what we have at Quaker Valley and what we can do to move into those new standards of learning in the future,” Santucci said. “The stars are kind of aligning right now.”

Assistant Superintendent Andrew Surloff said Santucci was selected out of about seven candidates. He said Santucci’s educational versatility made him standout from the pack.

School board members Sept. 24 also welcomed their newest teachers who were hired prior to the start of the school year.

They were Heidi Cecchini, kindergarten at Osborne Elementary; Caroline Driscoll, fourth grade at Osborne Elementary; Shane Emery, English Language Arts at Quaker Valley High School; Carly Klein, fourth grade at Osborne Elementary; Shannon Kolenik, English Language Arts at Quaker Valley High School; Paige Neupauer, third grade at Edgeworth Elementary; Miranda Prosser, first grade at Osborne Elementary; Brittany Renkin, English as a second language for the district; Julia Trunzo, sixth grade at Quaker Valley Middle School; and Sarah Wilson, library/media specialist at Edgeworth Elementary.

They each took a few moments to introduce themselves and briefly talked about their class and school.

They all said they were enjoying the start of their new jobs and that district officials were very welcoming.

Board president Jonathan Kuzma said showcasing the new hires is what makes September one of his favorite meetings.

“We really appreciate all of you coming,” Kuzma told the group.