Upper St. Clair Superintendent is Clarion Commencement Speaker

Upper St. Clair's Superintendent Patrick O’Toole, a graduate of 1979, will return to Clarion University May 18 to deliver both the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. commencement addresses.

In his address, “Leadership, Learning and Opportunity,” O’Toole will encourage graduates to seek the opportunities that come through personal leadership and learning.

"My selection (as commencement speaker) is an example to students that we are not finished products on graduation day," O’Toole said.

One of the most inspiring moments in his education, and one that has guided his career as an educator, happened in a Clarion University classroom.

"A college professor once gave me feedback that I could be a ‘good teacher’ by being technically sound, but if I wanted to be a ‘great teacher,’ I must demonstrate to students a passion and love for learning," O'Toole said.

O’Toole graduated from Clarion University in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He subsequently earned master’s and doctorate degrees in education from University of Pittsburgh.

O’Toole and his family have an extensive history with Clarion University—dating back to the days of Clarion Normal School where his great-grandmother, Mary Catherine Murphy Schierberl, graduated in 1909.  A scholarship was endowed in her name at Clarion University by the descendants of her family.

Both his parents, Mary C. (1948) and Michael J. O’Toole, Sr. (1951), were Clarion graduates and both later served as members of the Clarion Board of Trustees.  

In addition, two siblings, Michael J. O’Toole, Jr. (1976) and Erin Brannon (1986), graduated from Clarion, as did his nephew, Shane Beichner (2009).

From a teaching perspective, his two older sisters, Cathi Polak and Maureen O’Toole, recently retired as educators. Cathi taught 33 years and Maureen, 35 years. Currently, his youngest sister, Erin, just finished her 25th year of teaching.

O’Toole and his wife, Tracey, an educator at Seneca Valley Senior High School, and his son, Patrick, currently reside in Butler.