It’s a homecoming of sorts for Acmetonia Elementary School’s new police officer.
Allegheny Valley School District hired Joe Naviglia, 62, of Lower Burrell in September as Acmetonia’s school police officer.
He started last week and will be paid $50,000 annually.
“He has a lot of experience from other school districts and in the community,” Superintendent Patrick Graczyk said. “He has a good reputation, and we’re thrilled he brings all that experience here and came to work on our team.”
Naviglia — and his family — are staples in the Alle-Kiski Valley policing community. He most recently was a school police officer in the Highlands School District, his alma mater, and also served stints in the Gateway School District for the 2017-18 school year and Community Day School in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill from 2015 to 2017.
Before that, he was a Springdale police officer for 26 years, including 17 as chief of police. He also held law enforcement jobs in East Deer and Armstrong County — the latter of which he worked with his son, J.T., who is now a K-9 officer for New Kensington.
In addition to crossing paths with his son, a return to the lower Allegheny Valley has him right down the road from his brother, Michael, who is chief of police for the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. Being closer to his brother was a draw when considering the Harmar- based job, Joe said.
Allegheny Valley Regional Police serves Springdale Township, East Deer and Cheswick; the school district includes Cheswick and Springdale Township, Springdale and Harmar.
Joe Naviglia will continue to work part time for his brother when not working for the school.
“When we work, we’re professionals,” he said. “Same thing with my son. We do what needs to be done.”
Naviglia’s dad, also named Joseph, was a former police officer in Tarentum.
“He was an inspiration for me getting into law enforcement,” Naviglia said.
At his role in schools, Naviglia’s priorities are to make sure the building is secure, and to be a presence for students and teachers and build relationships with them. The first thing he did at Acmetonia was to introduce himself to the school’s roughly 450 students in kindergarten through sixth grades and their teachers.
Already, kids have begun to say “Hi, Officer Joe” and “Bye, Officer Joe” at the beginning and end of the school day — he acknowledges “Naviglia” can be difficult for younger children to pronounce.
“That’s the most rewarding part, right there,” he said.
