Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship principal to become Clairton City superintendent

Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship principal Tamara Allen-Thomas will be overseeing a new school as she takes over the position as the next superintendent at Clairton City School District.

The Clairton City School Board unanimously voted 9-0 on Feb. 23 to Allen-Thomas the next superintendent. Effective July 1, Allen-Thomas will be first Black woman to occupy the position for the school district.

She is succeeding superintendent Ginny Hunt, who will be retiring at the end of June.

“I looked at this as a big step. I am impacting generations not just kids. My mom said, ‘you’re built for this,’” Allen-Thomas said.

Allen-Thomas previously worked several roles at Pittsburgh Public Schools, including math teacher, co-principal and curriculum supervisor before becoming principal and chief academic officer of PHCSE in 2013.

Clairton school board president Roger Tachoir said Allen-Thomas’s experience in working several roles at Pittsburgh Public Schools and being the principal at the charter school stood out to the board.

“We thought the experience she had fit the mold of what we were looking for,” he said.

Coming in, Allen-Thomas had no prior experience working at a charter school. She quickly learned the chain of command worked differently than a public school because she did not have to go through several people to make a decision. During her first year as principal, she worked to establish a partnership with Penn Hills School District.

Allen-Thomas is proud of helping to create the school’s annual Soaring Shark Tank event, which aims to help build and elevate young entrepreneurs to their potential while also investing in their ideas. She also cited developing teachers and students as leaders as another accomplishment.

She said it is bittersweet leaving PHCSE, but she will cherish her time there.

“It’s bittersweet because people are happy for you, but at the same time what’s going to happen?” Allen-Thomas said.

PHCSE CEO Wayne Jones has been working with Allen-Thomas since 2013.

“It was a pleasure working with her to transform PHCSE into the high-quality public school it is today. We accomplished a lot in that process, and I know I could not have been paired with a better leader to make it happen,” Jones said.

A search for a new principal is underway at PHCSE. Jones said the board has already received a diverse amount of applicants. The board plans to have a new principal hired and working by July 1, he said.

“We are excited to select a thought-leader that will advance Dr. Allen-Thomas’ work, and brings new ideas to enhance our one-of-a-kind school model,” Jones said.

Allen-Thomas looks forward to immersing herself at Clairton and familiarizing herself with how the school functions.

“They [Clairton] are already doing great things, and I just want to highlight that,” she said.