OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Mark Drollinger, the new principal of Fredonia Elementary school, holds his 18-month-old son, Carson, as he addresses the Fredonia Board of Education Tuesday. Looking on is his wife, Molly.

Fredonia has a new elementary school principal.

Mark Drollinger was hired by the Board of Education at a special Tuesday meeting. Formerly middle school principal in the Pioneer school district, Drollinger will be paid $93,500 for the 2019-20 school year. He has a four-year contract, but the position is probationary and conditional upon performance review ratings.

Superintendent Jeff Sortisio told the board that hiring Drollinger “was a pretty rigorous process. I would say we had a lot of applicants — 30, if memory serves.”

Drollinger was a teacher in the Dunkirk school district from 2005 until 2015. He was then an instructional coach at Orchard Park school district from 2015 to April 2018, when he started working for Pioneer.

His wife, Molly, teaches in the Dunkirk school district, which led to a light-hearted warning from Sortisio.

“Mark, you and I are going to have long talks about what it means to work here and have a spouse who works in Dunkirk,” the superintendent said to laughter from the board and audience.

Holding his 18-month-old son, Carson, Drollinger replied: “It’s come full circle — I’m on this side of the orange. I’m excited.”

He has a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration at SUNY Fredonia. A YouTube channel with videos by Drollinger, “Simple Science,” had 8,480,792 views as of Tuesday afternoon. There are about 68 videos on it, featuring animated characters explaining scientific concepts.

The previous elementary school principal, Amy Piper, is remaining with the district and taking on a new position: She will head up the Early Childhood Center going into the Wheelock Elementary School, among other duties.

Speaking to the board, Piper thanked the district custodians for their help in getting the center prepared, stating she formally moved her office there Monday.

Sortisio said after the meeting that the center, which will include pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes, won’t be her only duties. “She will also be assuming a number of other district-level responsibilities,” he said.

Among those is a focus on curriculum alignment, which Sortisio explained is about ensuring that teachers on the same level and in the same subject are teaching the same things. It’s also about ensuring the curriculum “builds on one year to the next.”

The superintendent added she will also work on early childhood literacy skills and “identifying students who are struggling and help them to be successful.”

The board also filled some other positions Tuesday. The hires are:

¯ Derek Kuch as an English Language Arts teacher for grades seven through 12.

¯ Gina Spiotta Davis as a counselor.

¯ Miles Cassetta as a psychologist.

¯ Amanda Krakowiak as a math teacher for grades 7-12.

¯ Sara Artrip as a teacher aide.

¯ Zachary Forys as a long-term substitute math teacher.