Hope Schreiber.
Pride.
It’s a feeling Assistant Principal Hope Schreiber wants students to have as they walk the halls of Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School and the streets of Stowe Township and McKees Rocks.
“I was asked during the interview process, ‘Why Sto-Rox?’ It was something that, ever since I did my interview, has really stuck with me. Because when I was first asked that question, I said, ‘Why not Sto-Rox?’
Finding Her Path
Schreiber’s introduction to Sto-Rox started in a classroom - not as a student - but as a substitute teacher.
“I chose to sub here because it was a small school that was very similar to my educational experience growing up,” said Schreiber, a graduate of Deer Lakes High School. “I knew it was a very community-based school and I wanted a similar situation closer to the city.”
Schreiber has maintained close ties with the Pittsburgh area. She attended La Roche University for her undergraduate degree, and went to Point Park University to attain her Master’s degree.
Her first substitute teaching experience in Sto-Rox came in the classroom of Suzan Kattan, who still teaches math at Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School. Schreiber fondly remembers the experience.
“She has a very unique classroom,” Schrieber said, thinking back to what she called a very welcoming environment. “You could tell just walking in, you instantly knew that this teacher taught math, the way it was set up.”
Schreiber briefly left Pittsburgh to take her first teaching job in Columbia, South Carolina. She taught 7th grade math there, but it wasn’t long before the lure of Western Pennsylvania led her back.
“I wanted to teach close to the city of Pittsburgh, if not in the city of Pittsburgh,” she said. Her hopes became reality when she secured a teaching job in Pittsburgh Public Schools. For five years, she taught 8th grade math.
“Pittsburgh has always been a huge part of who I am, so when I moved back it was solely because I got a job in Pittsburgh Public Schools,” she explained. “I loved my time there as a math teacher.”
Schreiber leading the Sto-Rox Girls Varsity Basketball Team during the 2022-2023 season.
A Seed and a Spark
While a seed had been planted with her substitute teaching experience in Sto-Rox, the spark that set her on a path to the district came from another passion of hers: basketball.
“I’ve played basketball since I was very young. If I could have played basketball in college, I would have,” she explained, “but that opportunity wasn’t the right time for me.”
“I wasn’t always the most natural or the best athlete, but one thing that I really liked and that fit for me was I understood the game of basketball, I understood the strategy.”
She pointed to her coach at Deer Lakes - local legend and state champion Dana Petruska - as an example for her and how she can be a leader.
“She taught me how to be a good athlete on and off the court, and I wanted to make sure that when I became a coach, that I was instilling that in my players,” Schreiber said. “I choose coaching because of the relationships that you get with your student-athletes, because it’s not just about the game of basketball, it’s about helping young adults be able to have the skills to be successful in their life.”
During the time Schreiber pursued her teaching career, she was an assistant coach in Deer Lakes, a middle school coach in Columbia, and after school program coach in Pittsburgh. It all led to her ascension to a head coaching position for the Sto-Rox Girls Varsity Basketball team during the 2022-2023 season.
“While I was coaching, I did see multiple teaching and administration opportunities open up,” she said. “But because I had such a strong bond with my students and my staff in PPS, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving to become a teacher (in Sto-Rox).”
That changed in the off-season, when Schreiber interviewed for and secured the position of Assistant Principal for Grades 7-9.
Schreiber works in the Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School main office during a dismissal in September 2023.
Reclaiming Pride
Schreiber has transitioned her view from baseline and the classroom to the administrative arena. Instead of a squad of girls or a classroom of students, she is focused on whole grade levels - hundreds of students and dozens of teachers - who require her knowledge and leadership.
So how does one build a sense of pride in Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School? Schreiber has an answer.
“It starts with the students first, making sure they have a safe and welcoming place to come to every day. Not only that, but setting high expectations for the students and staff.”
Schreiber oversees grades seven through nine, but that’s hardly her only purview. She is also an instructional leader for math, physical education and some special education areas; plus she is the Grade 7-12 Coordinator for the Virtual Vikings Cyber Academy and oversees the Athletic Department.
However, one of the key offerings not mentioned above is the 7th and 8th Grade Academy course. Each day, during the last period, those students engage in social-emotional learning and team building exercises. The goal is to foster skills that will help students solve problems and work better both inside and outside the classroom.
“We also have restorative practice opportunities that the students will be able to partake in through the Just Discipline project,” explained Schreiber. Restorative practices is a social science that focuses on building trusting relationships and improving communities. That is just one of the school related activities that academy students can take advantage of. Other examples include the Jr./Sr. High School Mural Club, Becoming A Man (BAM) and the Boys & Girls Club teen outreach program.
“I’ve been helping to coordinate providers to have events for the kids, as well as activities and creating a curriculum for all of it,” she said. “It’s a time for them to focus on themselves as individuals and it also is a time for them to get the support that they need.”
That could mean anything from using extra time to complete assignments, to meeting with counselors about their futures, or simply just seeking advice. That can be helpful, especially for students who are transitioning from the Upper Elementary to the much larger Jr./Sr. High School. It’s a change that includes more classmates, tougher assignments and new social challenges.
“It is a drastic change for a lot of them,” she said. “They’re around students who are older than them and our classes function mostly as a high school class.”
Ultimately, Schreiber’s ability to connect with those students will help form a foundation that future Sto-Rox classes are built upon. To hear Schreiber explain it, she’s in this for the long haul.
“I started as a coach while I was in another district and I chose to leave that district to come here because I want to be here,” she said. “This is where I believe I’m meant to be.”