Pittsburgh Pioneer

Pittsburgh Pioneer Education Center, located in Brookline, has been serving the students of Pittsburgh Public Schools for 50 years. The school serves students from the Pittsburgh School District as well as other districts whose IEPs require a more comprehensive educational environment than available in their neighborhood schools. At Pittsburgh Pioneer our mission is to enable each student to discover, recognize and develop cognitively, physically, socially, and communicatively, in order to reach his or her greatest possible level of independence. Pittsburgh Pioneer provides a range of services to students who have multiple and medical disabilities. The students' IEP (Individualized Education Program) team determines the type and level of services needed for each student. This includes transition planning for post-secondary goals for students over the age of 14. Pittsburgh Pioneer welcomes visitors. Please call the school with any questions.

Our Program:

Pittsburgh Pioneer offers an intensive program driven by the students' IEP in the following areas: cognitive, augmentative communications, speech & language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, hearing, vision, art, music, adapted physical education, pre-vocational workshop, CBI (Community-Based Instruction) and ADL (Activities of Daily Living).

Students participate in a comprehensive developmental program in which best practices and state-of-the-art adaptive equipment, curricular materials, and technology are utilized. Students range in age from 5 to 21 and all have multiple disabilities. Each classroom has a highly qualified special education teacher with paraprofessional support. Students who have hearing and vision disabilities are provided these services from itinerant professionals. On site, Pittsburgh Pioneer has a full-service therapy department comprised of speech/language communication specialists, occupational and physical therapists. Additionally, students have the opportunity for development of skills in the areas of sensory integration through a multi-disciplinary approach.

At Pittsburgh Pioneer, we strive to meet the needs of the whole child and address all cognitive, therapeutic, social and medical needs on-site. To further that commitment, we have a full-time nurse practitioner to meet most medical needs a student may have.

Monthly wheelchair and orthotics clinics along with a range of medical services from medication supervision, therapeutic feeding, catheter maintenance and comprehensive skin care are also on-site. If necessary, students also receive instruction from a therapy team on issues of feeding and toileting.

Pittsburgh Pioneer is also committed to the needs of students' families. We work closely with the appropriate outside agencies to provide family support including information about insurance, medical treatment, housing (including accessibility of the student's home) and securing post-secondary placement.

During the school year, when appropriate, students audit classes at Pittsburgh South Brook and Pittsburgh West Liberty enjoying the interaction with their typical peers. Local high school students periodically visit with Pittsburgh Pioneer to participate in a variety of sports activities or school wide events designed for cooperation between the high school buddies and Pioneer students.

Pittsburgh Pioneer students are engaged in a variety of community-based settings such as ACHIEVA and Life's Work. Our students work or volunteer at these and other sites learning skills to prepare them to enter the world of work at some appropriate level. Other students are in the community to reinforce their IEP goals and transfer skills beyond the classroom.