Roylin Petties was named the new Principal of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School at the school board meeting on July 21, 2022. As a Midland native, Petties reflected on being named the new principal at what he calls the “crowning jewel” of his hometown.
Petties acquired his Bachelor of Education degree from Slippery Rock University. He also received his Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from PennWest Edinboro University.
When posed with the question of what to do following his high school graduation, Petties was faced with a difficult decision. “It was a choice between the air force and a teacher,” he said. “Once I sat down and thought about my career choices, [I realized] some of the most influential people in my life had been teachers.” Additionally, Petties credits his family and close family friend Mrs. P for being the inspiration behind his choice of career.
Petties formerly worked at Butler School District as their assistant principal. He was also employed as assistant principal in the Pittsburgh Public Schools system, as well as at Beaver Falls School District.
Petties described how, as a teacher, he had a difficult situation with a supervisor. “They weren’t fair; they didn’t help,” he said. This situation gave Petties the motivation to “be the type of administrator that [he] wanted when [he] was a teacher.”
Petties’ daughter, Alana, is a senior health science major at Lincoln Park. Petties spoke upon the challenges and benefits that came with working at his daughter’s school. “One of the challenges I face is making sure I don’t seem more biased towards her. I don’t visit her class more; I go to all of the classes. That is the only challenge I would see, and I actually try to stay away from her.”
Petties also shared the advantage of having his daughter at his place of work. “Before she became a student of mine, I was a parent, so I was able to get the pulse and the different things of the organization beforehand. Most administrators don’t have that. Most administrators don’t have that benefit to know the climate of a place before they come in.”
Lincoln Park’s CEO P.K. Poling added that principal Petties gained valuable experience while working in other school districts. Mr. Poling commented that during the interview process, Petties showed his commitment to Lincoln Park: “His enthusiasm was contagious and it was apparent that we had our guy.”
