South Fayette School District hires 2 new administrators

Two administrative roles have been filled in South Fayette Township School District.

On Feb. 16, the school board approved Dr. Matthew Callison as the new director of innovation, strategic partnerships and instructional technology, according to a news release. Callison replaces Aileen Owens, who retired in January and spearheaded the computer science/computational thinking pathway for the district over the last 11 years.

At the same meeting, Kristin Deichler was named the new assistant to the superintendent for secondary education, replacing Dr. Jeff Evancho, who left the position in February after serving in the role since the fall of 2018.

Callison is an educator, author, consultant and entrepreneur who has worked in the education field for more than 20 years with learners of every age. Beginning in 1998, he taught in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 10 years. In 2005, he graduated from the Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco with a master of arts in teaching. In 2007, Callison was named an Apple Distinguished Educator for the innovative and effective ways he uses technology for teaching and learning. In 2010, he began perusing his doctoral degree in Instructional Technology at Indiana University, where he co-founded an educational technology startup in 2015, and was awarded his Ph.D. in 2017.

In 2015, Callison earned his administrative license and MSEd in Educational Leadership from Indiana University.

Callison also presents at the local, state, national and international level. He comes to South Fayette Township School District from Indiana, where he was a manager of online instructional design for Indiana University.

Over the past 10 years, Callison has taught a variety of courses in instructional technology and blended and personalized learning to preservice and inservice teachers at universities such as Indiana University and Texas Tech University. He also has acted as a consultant to Indiana Wesleyan University’s Doctorate in business administration.

Deichler first joined the South Fayette Middle School team for the 2001-2002 school year as a long-term substitute and then transitioned to the sixth-grade science teacher in the subsequent school year. After three years in that position, Deichler became one of the sixth-grade mathematics teachers and remained in that position for 11 years. In 2015-2016, she was named the assistant principal for the middle school and then was promoted to the position of middle school principal for the 2016-2017 school year. She has served in that role for the past five years.

In addition to her educational and administrative positions, Deichler has served on multiple committees, including those related to curriculum, instruction, data and strategic planning. She has also represented South Fayette Middle School by presenting at local, state and national conferences. Her passion for and dedication to middle-level children and their education is evident in the earning of Don Eichhorn’s “Schools to Watch” designations in 2016 and 2019, which recognize middle schools for their exemplary programs and dedication to continual growth.

Deichler holds her bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University and her master’s degree in administration, as well as her K-12 principal certification, from California University of Pennsylvania. Deichler is set to earn her doctor of education this summer from California University of Pennsylvania.