Mr. Pettinato has been a teacher in Philadelphia public charter schools since 2009. He was born in a small industrial town in the northwestern corner Pennsylvania to working-class parents with high school diplomas. The first of his immediate family to go to college, he graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2005 with a BS in General Science.
Education
Mr. Pettinato enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University in the summer of 2001. While at Penn State he studied chemistry, physics, psychology, and philosophy. In 2005, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in General Science degree.
An internship in the summer of 2004 allowed him to work with the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries studying the chemical bonding of wood adhesives.
In 2008, Mr. Pettinato enrolled in a teacher certification program at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He gained field experience as a student teacher at Westlake Middle School and General McLane High School prior to completing his PA teacher certification in 2010.
Family
While studying at Penn State, Mr. Pettinato met and fell in love with a pretty, red-haired girl, who in 2009, married him. Mr. and Mrs. Pettinato moved to an apartment in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia with their dog, Ceci.
Roots
Mr. Pettinato is the oldest of three children born in Bradford, Pennsylvania. His younger sister, Sarah, graduated from Malone College and is a nurse at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. His younger brother Joe attended Arizona State University and then Law school at Michigan State University, he is currently practicing Law in Cincinnati.
Experience
After graduation from college, in 2005, Mr. Pettinato went to work as a quality control chemist at the oil refinery in the town where he grew up. There he was a lab technician analyzing petroleum products.
From 2009 - 2012 Mr. Pettinato taught Chemistry and 9th General Physical Science at Multicultural Academy CS in North Philadelphia.
From 2012 - 2015 Mr. Pettinato taught Physics and 9th Science at KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy in West Philadelphia.
For the 2015-2016 school year Mr. Pettinato taught Chemistry and 9th Physical Science at Freire Charter School in Center City Philadelphia.
In 2016 Mr. Pettinato returned to Multicultural Academy to teach Chemistry and General Physical Science as the lead science teacher.