School Movers & Shakers - September

Mars Area

Mars Area High School Girls Varsity Volleyball Team was selected to receive a 2026 AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Team Academic Award. The award is presented to those teams that maintain a year-long GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. In addition, the Lady Planets earned the distinction of AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll, representing the top 20 percent of GPAs nationally by division.

Mars Area High School incoming sophomore Meredith Lindsay participated in the 2026 Best Buddies Conference, held July 16-19 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Lindsay, president of Mars Area High School’s Best Buddies Club, was one of several students selected to represent Pennsylvania at the event, which offered workshops, seminars, and various other events discussing how to improve school communities by including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Mars Area School Board has appointed Brooks Roorback as the Assistant Principal at Mars Area Elementary School.

Fox Chapel

The Fox Chapel Area School District, in partnership with the Center for Innovation in Education, has been awarded a $50,000 Remake Learning National Moonshot Grant. The funds will support an initiative titled “Building the Village: Schools as Infrastructure for Community Prosperity.”

Fox Chapel Area High School 2026 graduate Laila Golla was named an Honorable Mention winner as part of the Horizon Academic Essay Prize 2026.

Fox Chapel Area High School has earned the Responsible AI (artificial intelligence) in Learning (RAIL) Endorsement in AI Literacy, Safety, and Ethics from the Middle States Association (MSA).  The purpose of RAIL, and of this endorsement in particular, is to help schools “stay safe and stay ahead” with AI.  Fox Chapel Area High School is among the first 50 schools worldwide to receive this endorsement.

Bishop Canevin

Bishop Canevin High School announced that Ben Giannetta has been hired as the school’s new history teacher.

Support Grants

Several schools in the 28th Legislative District will receive nearly $1.2 million to make learning environments safer and provide behavioral health support for students and staff. The grants were approved through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) School Safety and Security Committee. The schools and school districts awarded grants are A.W. Beattie Career Center, Deer Lakes School, Hampton Township School District, North Allegheny School District, and Pine-Richland School District.

School districts in the 44^th Legislative District will receive a combined $699,456 in School Safety and Mental Health Grants through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s School Safety and Security Committee (PCCD). The 44^th District school districts receiving funding are Moon Area, Quaker Valley, and West Allegheny. 

Assembly Programs

School entertainers Josh & Gab announced they are now booking for the fall school programs. The duo’s assembly programs are a fun and high-energy mix of live music, interactive lessons, and comic storytelling focusing on kindness and positive choices. They customize each show to the curriculum and themes. Their new song “44 Dinosaurs” is out on all music streaming platforms to coincide with back-to-school time, celebrating positive play no matter your age! For details, visit thejoshandgabshow@gmail.com for inquiries and booking.