Piperato leaving Pleasant Valley to take job in Easton

Pleasant Valley School District’s superintendent is moving on after two years on the job.

David Piperato was hired this week to the same position with Easton Area School District, at a salary of $180,000, following the district’s five-month search.

Piperato, a Nazareth resident, was hired in Pleasant Valley before the 2017-18 school year at a salary of $155,000, replacing Carole Geary, who had retired.

Sue Kresge, Pleasant Valley school board president, said Piperato has been a great leader for the district.

“We are sad that he felt the need to leave us,” Kresge said. “Our loss is Easton’s gain. We hired him to re-establish integrity and instill trust again, which he was accomplishing. With his leadership and his highly functioning administrative team, he began to create an educational system at Pleasant Valley for the 21st century. In the two years he has been with us we have implemented all-day kindergarten, Project Lead the Way, infused STEM instruction into the classrooms, and began work on our Profile of a Graduate.”

In August, Piperato received a 3.5 percent raise with several board members lauding his leadership efforts. Before that vote, Director Kenneth Cocuzzo read a list of reasons he supported the raise for Piperato.

“He spearheaded this board’s efforts to reform how Pleasant Valley operates, he restored integrity and equitable practices that have brought about a positive culture change,” Cocuzzo said. “He resisted attempts to distract from the mission of reshaping Pleasant Valley into a 21st century school district. He recruited top and independent talent for our depleted administrative ranks, and he recommended and implemented programs and systems that will enhance the Pleasant Valley community.”

According to a press release from Easton, the search involved candidates meeting with staff members, administration, parents, students and other community representatives.

Before taking the job at Pleasant Valley, Piperato had been a high school principal at Emmaus, Lower Merion and Palisades.

The press release also states that at Pleasant Valley, Piperato has been responsible for providing research-based staff development, the integration of technology, and advancing student achievement through the introduction of solid curriculum and assessment programs, including STEM initiatives and the recently released “Profile of a Graduate.”

“Among my top priorities at Easton will be to re-establish and foster a positive climate and culture built on mutual trust, while coordinating efforts in the continuous improvement of teaching and learning across the district,” Piperato said in the release.

Piperato will begin at Easton on Dec. 15.

Kresge said Pleasant Valley will soon meet as a board to discuss its next steps.

“We wish him well and hope that we will be fortunate to find a new superintendent as good as he was,” she said.