CENTRE COUNTY — With class schedules and teacher assignments starting to make their rounds throughout Centre County, these are the principals who will be guiding high school students through the upcoming school year:
Bald Eagle Area High School
John Tobias serves as the principal for Bald Eagle Area High School.
While he has had many achievements during his time at Bald Eagle Area High School, in 2021, Tobias notably received an honorary membership from the Pennsylvania Future Farmers of America. He received the award due to the high school’s agricultural program.
Bellefonte Area High School
Mike Fedisson took on the role of Bellefonte Area High School principal in 2017.
He previously worked as a seventh-grade English language arts teacher at Bellefonte Middle School from 2003 to 2011, was dean of students at Bellefonte Area High School from 2011 to 2012 and vice principal of the high school from 2012 to 2017 before becoming principal.
Fedisson was named Pennsylvania’s 2024 Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Principals Association in May of this year.
Philipsburg-Osceola Senior High School
Philipsburg-Osceola Senior High School Principal Linda Hockey has worked in the Phillipsburg-Osceola Area School District for 32 years.
Hockey began her journey after graduating from Penn State University. She worked as an elementary school teacher for 20 years. She then transitioned into working as a literary coach, a literacy grant coordinator and a central office administrator, according to her LinkedIn page.
She became principal of Phillipsburg-Osceola Senior High School in 2021.
Penns Valley Junior and Senior High School
Zachary Wynkoop is the principal of Penns Valley Junior and Senior High School. He formerly worked as the principal for Radio Park Elementary School and vice principal for Bellwood-Antis High School.
During his time as principal at Penns Valley, Wynkoop notably implemented a new phone regulation policy for the 2023-24 school year which limited phone usage during instructional periods.
Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy is a private high school located in Boalsburg. Anna Rupprecht has been the principal since 2022.
Prior to becoming principal she worked at Penn State as an instructor of history and education and a teaching consultant for the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Initiative. She also taught for four years at Marywood University and was a home school curriculum advisor for four years.
Rupprecht also currently works as the executive director for the Boal Mansion Museum.
State College Area High School
After servicing as the assistant principal for five years at the State College Area High School, Laura Tobias stepped into the principal role in 2021. Before then, she worked for 13 years as a social studies teacher at Penns Valley Junior and Senior High School.
“I am humbled and excited to be taking on this new role,” Tobias said in a statement at the time of her appointment to the position in 2021. “I believe in the power of education to positively change lives. My dedication to instructional leadership, passion for student success, and experience cultivating successful educational teams fuels my desire to serve our district as the high school principal.”
