Kiski Area principal wins statewide award after 20 years in district
Kiski Area School District can claim another award- winning principal.
Brian Swartzlander, Kiski Area Upper Elementary School principal, was named Pennsylvania’s 2024 National Distinguished Principal by the Pennsylvania Principals Association.
Dan Smith, then-assistant principal of the building, won an award through the state association in 2021.
Swartzlander called the experience “surreal.”
“When I found out I won, I couldn’t believe it,” Swartzlander said. “I’ve gotten a lot of attention since, and it’s just not something I’m used to.”
Swartzlander’s ties to Kiski Area School District run deep.
For starters, his grandfather taught and coached in the district for years.
“That’s what really drove me to education … just paying it forward,” Swartzlander said.
He graduated from Kiski Area High School in 1999, returning five years later to teach social studies. From there, he rose through the administrative ranks, taking his current post in 2019.
The upper elementary school enrolls about 500 students in fifth and sixth grades.
As principal, Swartzlander has implemented a positive behavioral interventions and supports program, earning well-behaved students points that can be cashed in for prizes.
He also has emphasized professional learning communities, groups of teachers who meet daily to discuss curriculum, assessments and supports for struggling students.
“From the moment we entered the building to visit, we could tell a culture of ‘students first’ was evident,” said James Orichosky, chair of the National Distinguished Principal Selection Committee.
Jason Lohr, superintendent of Kiski Area School District, praised Swartzlander for fostering a community in the building that “works, loves, learns and plays hard every single day.”
Swartzlander said the building’s staff and faculty — some of whom he knew first as teachers instead of colleagues — deserve a share of the credit.
“I wouldn’t even be considered for this award if this building was a mess,” Swartzlander said.
Jack Troy is a TribLive reporter covering business and health care. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at
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