Principal's Welcome
Welcome to the Pittsburgh New Church School. We are a small private religious school located in the Point Breeze section of Pittsburgh. We are an elementary school that serves students in grades K-8 and we have been operating since 1885. We cater to families who are looking for a New Christian education for their children. In 2018, we also added support for students with language-based learning challenges such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Our entire staff is trained in the Orton-Gillingham, OG-based multi-sensory instructional approach to reading and math. Most are certified OG instructors as well. We also use this multi-sensory approach in all other subject areas as well. Our teachers use many hands-on projects to engage our students in rich learning experiences. Even though we are highly trained to help students with language-based learning challenges, our school is open to students without learning challenges as well. We, however, are not well-trained or equipped to support students with, emotional or behavioral challenges, or diagnosis of autism or intellectual disability.
We have a small family-style atmosphere where students of all ages play and learn together. Our classes are multi-graded which means more than one grade is assigned to a teacher in any subject. Most classes have a range of three grades or fewer. This allows our classes to cater to a variety of student abilities without having to pull students out of the classroom. Younger students learn from older and older students learn to nurture or become role models for the younger students. These multi-graded classrooms allow students to work to their own level and ability in each class. For example, a student in 5th grade might be doing 3rd-grade reading, 7th-grade math, and 5th-grade science and social studies. In this way, Prescriptive learning plans for each child can be designed and implemented to augment their strengths and shore up their weakness.
Our typical day starts at 8:30 am with a focus on the Lord and his teachings which help us live happy and useful lives. The whole school participates in a short worship service led by the Pittsburgh New Church Pastor Jared Buss. You will notice that every classroom in PNCS has a simple bible or Word stand to show the Lord’s truth and therefore his presence is with us throughout the day.
Academic classes begin at 9 AM followed by a snack & recess break around 10 AM. Academic classes then continue throughout the day with a lunch and second recess break around 12 noon. Our classes include a specialized OG reading class, and language arts classes that include, literature, reading comprehension, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and writing. We also teach math, science, social studies, art, religion, music, and PE. Some rotating classes include robotics, drama, makers lab, and home economics. We also teach the kids how to utilize assistive technology to help them perform at grade level in other classes and to be ready for high school and beyond. An example would be using reading pens, and text-to-speech or speech-to-text software, and word predictors as well as other apps that are already loaded on each student’s iPad.
At the end of every day, the students are assigned light housekeeping duties, such as sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and emptying trash to help keep the school neat and tidy as well as teach the children to be useful to others and to take pride and ownership of their school.
We do ask parents to help out occasionally as well. This helps build our community. We strive to help the whole child and their family. We foster and encourage a close relationship between home and school. When the home, school, and church work together then success is easier to obtain.
We currently do not have extracurricular activities and focus most of our energy on supporting our students with their academic, moral, and spiritual development.
We have a partnership with the Learning Disabilities Association of PA and the Robert Morris University Peirce Literacy Center to provide additional 1-on-1 reading tutoring to our students who may need additional support.
The PNCS also hosts community events such as parent doctrinal religious studies, Dyslexia Simulations in partnership with the PA branch of the International Dyslexia Association, and adult education support meetings about learning differences.
If you are interested in applying, call the school at (412) 731-0122 or email admissions@pittsburghnewchurchschool.org to schedule a physical tour and fill out our application which can be found on our admission page.
We hope to see you for a tour or at one of our public events.
Have a wonderful and blessed day
I am Cyndi Glenn, the Principal of PNCS, and a parent of a child with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD.