Whitehall-Coplay School Board, at a special meeting Sept. 9, officially accepted the resignation of Dr. Robert Steckel Jr., superintendent of Whitehall-Coplay School District.

Steckel announced his resignation at the end of August.

“I just want to thank the board for all of your support,” Steckel said at the board meeting.

Steckel said he was presented with an opportunity in the private sector that will be a “tremendous growth opportunity for him and his family,” according to an email he sent to staff and school district families in announcing his resignation.

“Although I had no intentions of pursuing other jobs and have thoroughly loved my position and the WCSD, this offer came, and I wish to take advantage of the opportunity,” the email read.

Steckel’s resignation is effective Dec. 2.

The vote to accept the resignation was unanimous.

Steckel’s career in education started in 2003 when he took a position as a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Orefield Middle School in the Parkland School District.

In 2007, he left that district when he was offered the position of alternative education teacher at Northampton Area Middle School. A year after that, he became a social studies teacher in the Northampton Area School District and joined the school board.

Steckel would then become the assistant principal at Northampton Area High School, followed by principal and, ultimately, assistant to the superintendent.

Steckel’s journey as superintendent in WCSD began in 2021 when he replaced Dr. Lorie Hackett, following her retirement.