Pitcairn Elementary School

435 Agatha Street

Pitcairn, PA 15140

(412) 373-5850

Welcome to Pitcairn Elementary School!

We are the smallest of the five elementary schools in the Gateway School District. Because we are situated in the center of the town, many of our students walk to school. We have approximately 175 students in Kindergarten through fourth grade. Our eight classroom teachers work closely with additional teachers of Title I, special education, physical education, music, art, computer, library and guidance. At Pitcairn, we work as a child-centered team to provide our students with the knowledge and support they will need to be successful.  Our strength is our unyielding focus on student achievement while focusing on the needs of the whole child.  The talented staff every day shows their commitment to the children of our school and to their profession.

Our goal at Pitcairn is to provide our students with the reading and math skills necessary for success in all of their subjects. In the recent past, the school received a Read to Succeed grant.  This funding drastically changed the approach to reading in the building and created a successful approach for our students.  As the school has developed its Differentiated Instruction program, we have continued to build on the lessons from this grant.  Students now learn to read in whole group, small group, and in one-to-one settings with a variety of materials and approaches.  Additionally, we focus on providing an Intervention Block for students at every grade level to provide specialized interventions for remediation, review, and enrichment. Our Math program not only focuses on numeracy skills, but also builds problem solving skills and critical thinking skills in every grade level.

Students also participate in Reading Counts, a computer based program that tests students’ comprehension of self-selected books.  This year, our theme for Reading Counts is “Wild About Reading.”  Students earn points through the program that can be redeemed in our Reading Counts store for prizes.  At various point levels, students also earn free books, bookmarks, and t-shirts.  All students who earn 200 points join the principal for a limousine ride and lunch each spring. 

We show “Pitcairn Pride” each day through our school and welcome you to learn more about us through our website!  Welcome to Pitcairn!

Thank you,

Mr. John Fournier

Principal