BAHS Principal Mr. Michael Fedisson received an award for his excellence as a principal and school official after working for BASD for 21 years.
The award, named Pennsylvania’s Principal of the Year Award, will allow Mr. Fedisson to be a delegate for the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals (NASSP) State Principals of the Year conference. The event will occur in Washington, D.C. in October.
“I am very humbled to be recognized for this award,” Mr. Fedisson said, who is lovingly called “Fed” by students and staff.
Winning an award of this caliber requires the recipient to have initiated many programs within the school, which Fed has accomplished, including programs like Raider Revolution.
“One of the first projects I implemented was our PBIS program, now called Raider Revolution. The program has had great success over the years in creating a positive school climate and decreasing behavior referrals,” he said.
Raider Revolution, advised by teachers Mrs. Sarah Rodgers and Mrs. Jessica Baughman, has organized many events for the school, including pep rallies and the mock accident that students witnessed this May.
However, that isn’t the only program Fed has implemented in the school.
“In the last two years, we have partnered with the Jana Marie Foundation to provide mental health support by training all tenth grade students in a program called Teen Mental Health First Aid,” he said.
Fed also organized the assembly about Rachel Joy Scott and Rachel’s Challenge to instill more positive behaviors in students.
“We also brought [Rachel’s Challenge] back to promote kindness and acceptance of others. From this assembly, we have started a Friends of Rachel club to continue to promote the positive ideals of Rachel Joy Scott.”
Fed’s contributions to education also span outward to the community around him. He joined the PA Council for International Education (PACIE) to serve on their Board.
One thing that Fed is most excited about, is the global education opportunity for students.
“I organize our international travel plan and am working with a group of high school teachers to promote global awareness and education for students.”
How does all of this hard work get noticed? Vice Principal Dr. Katrina Lee nominated Fed for the award after receiving an email about it. She believed that he was a good fit for the accolade.
“He does so much behind the scenes, more than what most people realize, and I thought that it would be exciting for him to receive the nomination,” she said.
After working with a number of principals throughout her career, Dr. Lee says that she loves working with Fed because he is one of the best she’s seen.
“Without question, the last two years working with Mr. Fedisson have been a highlight. He is always willing to listen and help, and we work through things as a team. It’s been great learning from him. [This award] shows not only the great leadership we have at the high school, but also gives us a chance to showcase the amazing work of our staff and students,” Dr. Lee said.
Vice Principal Mr. Andy Caruso has worked at BAHS with Fed for several years and is also excited to see him win this award.
“I worked with Fed for several years when he was teaching seventh grade ELA at BAMS, although we didn’t work together much since we taught different grade levels.”
He admires his colleague and all that he does.
“Fed’s knowledge of how a high school runs is incredible. High school is way more complicated than middle school: AP testing, honors courses, college credits, graduation pathways, etc,” Mr. Caruso said.
However, Fed isn’t just interested in his job, although it is a large part of his life. He has a family that he loves and adores as well as other hobbies outside of school like car shows, hiking, and kayaking. Mr. Fedisson is also a huge Pittsburgh sports fan.
Overall, Mr. Fedisson has been a large part of the school’s success adding in several programs to further the students’ plans beyond high school. Working with the School to Career Committee, he’s spearheaded several events to help students decide what they’d like to do after graduation, including bringing in over 90 guest speakers during the past few years to talk with students about a variety of career paths.
“We have also included job fairs and expanded job shadowing, internship, and cooperative work experiences. Our goal is to help students make informed decisions about their post-secondary plan,” Fed said.
Fed is humbled to have won this award, and has a piece of advice for other principals who would like to nominated for it.
“Continue to work hard to advocate for students and staff to create a positive school environment. Principals, like teachers, can get bogged down in their own silos and forget that we are doing tremendous work for our students. It is important to step back, talk with others, and realize that we face many of the same challenges.”
The students and staff of BAHS congratulate Fed for his achievements and wish him good luck at the conference in October.
