In 2019, when John Trovato, then Pequea Valley High School (PVHS) history teacher, learned that Arlen Mummau would be retiring from his position as principal of PVHS and Pequea Valley Intermediate School (PVIS), he felt a sense of duty. "I wanted to see the changes that Arlen and (superintendent) Dr. Erik Orndorff have been (implementing) in our community continue," said Trovato. "I love this district, and even though I love teaching, when the opportunity arose to help keep the ship moving in the right direction, I wanted to do my part to step up and help out."
In spring 2019, Trovato interviewed for the position, and by May of that year, it was announced that he would be stepping into the role of associate principal in the fall. "Mr. Mummau was kind enough to serve as a mentor during the fall semester to help with that transition," said Trovato, who officially became principal of PVHS and PVIS in January. Assistant principals are Amy Koberstein at PVHS and Tim Hess at Pequea Valley Intermediate School.
Trovato's journey to the helm of PVHS began in Bar Harbor, Maine, where he was born. By the time he had finished eighth grade, his parents, who enjoyed vacationing in Lancaster County, had moved the family to the Manheim Central School District, and Trovato began ninth grade at Manheim Central High School (MCHS). After graduating from MCHS in 1998, Trovato earned a degree in education, political science, and history from Millersville University. He began serving as a history teacher at PVHS in 2001.
During his many years at PVHS, Trovato said he was blessed to teach American history, a subject he feels passionate about. He also coached basketball, served as dean of students for 18 months, and helped develop the TRIBE elective, which involves physical education, history, science, and more. Trovato said that culminating experiences for the course occur in places such as Montana's Glacier National Park. He described in detail a past year's four-day, 48-mile backpacking trip that followed the Appalachian Trail from Gettysburg National Park to Harper's Ferry and included visiting the site of John Brown's raid. "Science involved plant and animal life, how to take care of the environment, and how we can leave it for future generations," said Trovato, who noted that the backpacking is challenging for the students, who cover up to 13 miles per day while carrying all their gear.
Now, Trovato will direct his energies toward the continued vision of MCL (Mass Customized Learning) in the district. The effort involves creating a learning environment where each individual has opportunities to reach his or her full potential and achieve his or her first career choice. "We are consistently trying to come up with new ways to reach learners where they're at and try to help them find their goal first-choice opportunity (in their career path)," said Trovato. The vision was inspired in part by the realization that more than 60% of PVHS graduates do not go on to college. "You have to step back and ask, 'What is the goal of education?'" explained Trovato. "Clearly, as a community, we need to be (concerned) about all types of learners. We shouldn't just be focused on one segment. We need to need to figure out ... how we can best help each student."
PVHS staff members intentionally refer to students as "learners" because the word puts the responsibility on the individuals to involve themselves in the process. "We are trying to help each student be more accountable in their own learning process," explained Trovato. "We have an entire school building (of students), but we want to customize for each (individual), so we have learners with a variety of (customized) schedule types. We are able to offer that to our school community."
Readers who would like to know more about PVHS may visit http://www.pequeavalley.org/pvhs.
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