Altoona Area School
District Technology Director Bryce Cossitor (right) speaks with high school Principal Andrew Neely at a school board meeting in August. At that meeting, Cossitor’s retirement, effective Friday, Dec. 5, was approved.
Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Bryce Cossitor is ready for the next chapter of his life after nearly three decades with the Altoona Area School District, from which he will retire Friday as the outgoing technology director.
After retirement, Cossitor plans to pursue some consulting work through the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, as well as spend more time with his family and friends at the Altoona Community Theatre, where he’s been a member since 1986.
Cossitor joined Altoona Area as its technology coordinator in 1998 and has been in the technology director position since it was created, which was about the same time that the district left the Altoona Area Vocational-Technical School’s computer consortium, he said.
Before joining the district, Cossitor was a computer programming instructor for the Altoona Area Vocational-Technical School, now known as the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center. While he was teaching there, Cossitor ran his own computer consulting and custom programming business for about 10 years, he said.
Being responsible for Altoona Area’s cyber security, data integrity system every day was a “big task” that often felt like “a huge house of cards” because, if one thing failed, it often impacted many other aspects, Cossitor said, adding “a huge amount of stress” will be removed from his life next week.
“At the same time, it’s like saying goodbye to something that you raised,” Cossitor said.
When Cossitor started teaching, International Business Machines personal computers, which didn’t have hard drives and required floppy disks to store data, were used, he said.
“At that point, there was no internet, per se. You had bulletin boards that you could dial into with a phone line using a modem for any kind of communication,” Cossitor said. “That was the primary way of talking to others across what we now know as the worldwide web and the internet.”
The internet has evolved from emails to instant messaging programs and social media platforms, Cossitor said, adding he’s seen everything progress throughout his career.
Irreplaceable friend, mentor
Cossitor’s knowledge of technology from an educational and business standpoint is unmatched within the district, Superintendent Brad Hatch said.
“You can’t replace a Bryce,” Hatch said. “His wealth of knowledge and experience is really irreplaceable. Not to mention that he’s a great friend and he’s a great administrator to everyone in the school district.”
Cossitor always kept the district ahead of the curve in terms of technology integration, instructional technology and cybersecurity, Hatch said, noting Altoona Area was one of the first local school districts to initiate a one-to-one program.
“He was at the forefront of that, where our kids were issued devices and took devices home,” Hatch said of Cossitor. “He’s a good friend and he’s someone who we will sadly miss.”
But the technology department is being left in good hands, Cossitor said, noting he didn’t retire earlier because he wanted to ensure a smooth transition for his team.
The school board of directors hired Justin Arthur as the district’s new technology director in August. Arthur began his career as a teacher and technology instructional coach at Altoona Area and later served as Hollidaysburg Area School District’s technology director for 11 years before returning to the district.
In August, Arthur said he enjoyed working with Cossitor when he was an instructional coach for the district, and he plans to continue Cossitor’s work by doing great things for Altoona Area.
Cossitor said it’s difficult to have a crystal ball and know what’s going to happen with the future of technology. But officials shouldn’t fall behind in the utilization of technology either, he said.
“You can’t always afford the biggest and the best in education, but we can’t ignore the fact that these kids need to be taught using the tools that they’re going to see in the real world when they graduate,” Cossitor said, adding artificial intelligence is “a perfect example of that.”
“You can’t put blinders on it, ignore artificial intelligence and think, ‘You know, that’s just not a good teaching tool,’” Cossitor said, noting AI can be a good tool – if it’s used properly and students are introduced to it in a way that helps them understand the dangers of not being a good digital citizen.
Not just technology
Cossitor was also an integral part of the district’s fine arts community for many years, Hatch said, noting he worked with his son, Ben Cossitor, to produce several school musicals over the past few years.
Bryce Cossitor served as the music director for Ben, who is the high school drama and fine arts
teacher in charge of directing the school’s musicals and plays.
Ben Cossitor said the experience of collaborating with his father was “really rewarding.”
“Getting the chance to collaborate in that capacity was one of the joys of the past few years,” Ben said, adding his father is often his voice of reason.
“I think he is that for many people,” Cossitor said, noting he went through the school system in the ’90s and watched his father build the district’s technology program from the ground up.
“One of the reasons why he got the position he got was because he’s so knowledgeable, and he does just have this annoying ability of always being right about what you’re asking him for,” Ben Cossitor said.
Watching his father perform and direct shows at the Altoona Community Theatre also helped Ben form his own passion for fine arts, he said.
“Sometimes I don’t even realize all the ways that he’s kind of inspired me,” Ben said.
Bryce Cossitor said he’s been on and off the theatre’s board of directors for many years.
Although he’s not currently serving on the board, Cossitor said he’s looking forward to spending more time at the theatre and directing his church choir at Saint Rose of Lima.
Something else he’s looking forward to are his family’s usual vacations to Disney’s theme parks, Cossitor said, noting they already have two trips planned between now and the spring.
Cossitor’s office at the district was filled with pieces of Disney memorabilia, including items from “Star Wars” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
“I talk about how stressful this job is, but our vacations to Disney have been a release for me and for our whole family where I can let all of that go and be kind of a kid again,” Cossitor said.
“Plus, I’m not going to say that I don’t go there in awe of all of the technology that puts those parks together and keeps them running. That’s all fascinating to me, too,” he said.
In addition to consulting for the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, Cossitor said he’s had interest from some local companies to provide educational consulting for them.
“I’m not ready to just pack it up and sit at home,” he said. “I’m going to continue to do some work, but as a consultant, it’s a little easier to walk away from it.”
The Cossitor file
Name: Bryce Cossitor
Age: 65
Education: Hollidaysburg Area School District, Class of 1978; Penn State Altoona, associate degree in computer science, 1985; Saint Francis University, bachelor’s degree in management and information sciences, 2004; Wilkes University, master’s degree in school business, 2021
Employment: Prior to graduating from college, Cossitor was a manager for a men’s clothing department store. In December 1985, he was hired by the Altoona Area Vocational-Technical School and worked there until joining the Altoona Area School District in 1998
Family: Wife, Sue Cossitor; children, Ben Cossitor and Lauren Cox
Hobbies: Performing, directing and singing
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