SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Being a school superintendent is a difficult job, but the new head of the Slippery Rock School District is willing to take on the challenge.

“A lot is demanded and expected of you. But I embrace that. That’s who I am, and what I want to be,” said Alfonso Angelucci.

Those expectations will increase when the district’s school year starts Aug. 26.

Angelucci, 46, of Ellwood City was hired in May, and started working July 1. He replaces Kathy Nogay, who retired at the end of June. She had been the superintendent since 2007.

Before coming to Slippery Rock, Angelucci was the superintendent at the Union School District in Lawrence County since 2009.

Union has two school buildings and 800 students, while Slippery Rock has four buildings and about 2,000 students. However, he noted that he mainly has worked in larger schools.

“Most of my experience is in school districts this size or larger,” Angelucci said.

From 1993 to 2000, he was a teacher in Stafford County Public School District in Virginia, which has nearly 30,000 students and 30 school buildings. From 2000 to 2003, he was an elementary principal in the North Hills School District near Pittsburgh, which has an enrollment of 4,300.

He was an assistant superintendent in the Ellwood City School District, which has about 2,000 students, from 2003 to 2009.

He said enrollment size does not make a big difference in how he does his job.

“To me, that doesn’t make that big of a difference. It’s just understanding the nuances,” Angelucci said. “They’re kids, and they need our guidance and attention.”

With about a month and a half on the job, Angelucci and district officials are working on hiring new teachers.

“That’s always very exciting. That could be the most important thing that we can do,” Angelucci said.

The district also is looking for an assistant superintendent. That position was eliminated after Jean Allen retired from it in 2011.

The district recreated the position this year, and administrators are interviewing some candidates.

“That search still continues,” Angelucci said.

He said he wants to make sure the curriculum meets state standards and wants to make the district’s We site as easy to use as possible.

Angelucci said he wants the district to be innovative.

“I want people to come to us and see what we’re doing,” Angelucci said.

He said the district now is a part of the University of Pittsburgh School Study Council, which offers conferences, workshops and information to school districts. Angelucci said he also wants to build relationships with other districts and administrators.

“Networking with colleagues is crucial,” Angelucci said.

He also is happy that the district is across the street from Slippery Rock University. He said he already has contacted SRU’s college of education and looks forward to meeting with SRU President Cheryl Norton.

“I am ecstatic about the possibilities,” said Angelucci, who got his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from SRU in 1992.

He received his doctorate in education from Indiana (Pa.) University in 2007. He got his master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from George Mason University in 1999.

He also is an adjunct professor at Westminster College.

“That’s an opportunity for me to give back a little bit,” Angelucci said.

Angelucci said he always had an interest in going into education. He always found himself wanting to coach or lead groups.

“I always enjoyed that,” Angelucci said.

While he was a teacher in Stafford County, he worked with a principal who was named as a Washington Post best principal. That principal told Angelucci that he had qualities that would be a good fit for administration, such as level headedness and problem solving ability.

Angelucci said that person still is one of the best principals he has ever worked with.

“He was my first mentor,” Angelucci said.

School board President Polly Shaw said the board is pleased with Angelucci’s work so far.

“He has fresh eyes. And fresh energy,” Shaw said.

She said the job requires a lot of new things to learn, and he is handling that well. She also said he is making careful changes, rather than drastic changes.

“He’s assessing carefully,” Shaw said.

Angelucci lives with his wife, Holly, and their three children.

He has a salary of $122,000 per year, and has a three-year contract.