have a dance party and we go to the park and get to play for a while. It’ s an overall good day.”
At Dr. Cleveland Steward, acts of service are a big focus for student leaders. Thus far, students have helped assist with Veteran’ s Day activities, set up a giving tree,— stocked with winter apparel for anyone in need— and helped shepherd new students into the school environment, among other things. Clemens added that she wants all students to have a core understanding of service.
Similarly, at University Park Elementary, students have focused on giving back to their community, launching an Early Act program in partnership with the Monroeville Rotary, cultivating leadership and service values among younger students.
“ It’ s nice to help out families who might be going through it or having a hard time with money,” said Dr. Cleveland Steward 4th grader, Kacen Lape.
“ Giving them that opportunity to be a part of making the school a better place is important for them,” said Dr. Cleveland Steward principal, Robert Hall.“ And giving them those different skills that they might not have gotten if they didn’ t get this opportunity is pretty important. Getting to interact with these kids and seeing how they’ re displaying those leadership qualities is great.”
As elected leaders, these students naturally do just that: lead. Hall said student leaders are meant to model ideal behavior for their PBIS model, and students like Lape, Bostwick, and Maingault all concurred that they relish that role, making sure to be good role models, but also stepping up to quell potential conflicts. At University Park, student leadership team members have been crucial in leading their PBIS program, helping earn the school Tier 3 Sustaining criteria, the highest level of PBIS recognition. Students also help run the school’ s PBIS store.
At Ramsey Elementary, third and fourth grade student leaders travel to K-2 classrooms with a flag, a mission statement, and a lesson plan to teach students about how to be a Ramsey Role Model.
“ If two students are arguing, I try to tell them that both of their answers are equal and fair and come to a compromise,” said Dr. Cleveland Steward 4th grader, Ava Goodnack.
“ It helps us a lot at recess and on the school bus. Because they’ ve been given that voice, they will report what’ s going on. We don’ t have to go seeking anything. At 8:50 in the morning, there’ s a line of kids here saying who was doing what on the bus,” said Dr. Taylor.
“ If kids are doing something inappropriate during recess, the students themselves will tell them to stop. The fact that they’ ve been given that voice, they’ ve been given power and control of their environment. It’ s almost become self-policing, and we really don’ t have a lot of negative referrals.”
Beyond opportunities in school, roles in their student leadership teams have allowed students to network with peers across the area at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’ s PBIS Elementary Student Summit, which was launched last year. Students have shared ideas, gathered ideas from other students, and practiced important skills, like public speaking.
“ The kids got to network with other students and have an opportunity to see what they could do and how they could build their program. Just watching them learn and grow stands out to me,” said Clemens.“ This year’ s group is phenomenal. They’ re so eager to help. Every single day, they’ re asking us what they can do and how they can help. Their energy and wanting to help is pretty fun.”
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GATEWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT
MONROEVILLE ❘ SPRING 2026 29