Schools

Dormont Elementary Principal Retires After 18 Years With KO

George Shevchik—the only principal Dormont Elementary has ever had—is retiring today.

George Shevchik always knew he wanted to be a teacher, but he hadn’t planned on becoming a principal.

He’s glad his career took him that direction, because it led to what he said is the best job in education he’s ever had.

Shevchik, Dormont Elementary’s first and only principal since it opened in 1995, is retiring after 18 years with .

Find out what's happening in Dormont-Brooklinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Will I miss it? Yes,” Shevchik said. “I will have to go through withdrawal. This is a top-notch elementary school. I have no regrets here.”

Shevchik’s official retirement date is today, March 9, but he will continue to serve as the principal through the end of the school year.

Find out what's happening in Dormont-Brooklinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He never wanted to leave the school or the students mid-year, he said. He has a morning tradition of greeting students at the door. He visits with them in the cafeteria at lunch, and he’s a key player in special school events, such as .

“I like to be very visible to the students. It’s one way for me to know them, and for them to know who I am,” he said. “I know almost all of these kids by name.”

That’s no small task—340 students attend Dormont Elementary. But Shevchik said parents in the district should be commended for raising such memorable students.

“I like to get (high school Principal Scott) Hagy’s morning email blasts and see what our students have accomplished at the high school,” he said. “Students often come back to visit after college. I’m very proud of the many successes of KO students, in college and beyond.”

It was a chance conversation with a superintendent that encouraged Shevchik to become a school principal.

Shevchik holds degrees in elementary education and secondary math, and was hired as a teacher in the Ambridge Area School District in 1977. He worked in that district for 17 years, teaching every grade except kindergarten and first grade.

While teaching there, a superintendent suggested to Shevchik that he would make a good school administrator.

“He asked if I’d ever considered going into administration, and I just looked at him. I was shocked,” Shevchik said. “Then I thought about it, and I went to Pitt.”

Shevchik received his masters’ degree in Administration and Policy Studies from the Universtiy of Pittsburgh. He spent one year as a principal in the New Brighton School District before he was hired as the assistant principal for Keystone Oaks Middle School.

When the new middle school was built and the former middle school became Dormont Elementary, Shevchik was asked to stay in the building as the elementary principal. He’s been there ever since.

“I’ve never looked anywhere else since I came to KO,” he said. “This district is one of our best kept secrets. I truly can only say good things about my time here. It’s been a good fit, and I hope the parents and district feel the same.”

Shevchik said he has mixed feelings about retirement. One on hand, he said, he wants to retire while he’s in good health and able to travel with his wife to visit their three children and one new grandchild. On the other, he’ll miss the staff and students who have been part of the past two decades of his career.

The staff is like a family, he said, and they give their all to the students.

“I never once woke up and said, 'I have to go to work,'” he said. “I always wanted to go. I never did this because I had to. I’ve truly enjoyed this, and that comes from the heart.”

The school board has not yet discussed a timeline for hiring a new principal.

Follow Dormont-Brookline Patch on Facebook and Twitter. For more information, sign up for our email Newsletter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here