Junior School

Welcome to the online home of Shady Side Academy’s Junior School! The Junior School serves a co-ed population of 205 elementary school students in grades PK-5. Our spacious seven-acre campus is located in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Shady Side Academy’s Guiding Principles of honesty, kindness, respect, responsibility and safety are the foundation of our community. With these values as our roadmap, we are joined in a partnership based upon the individual educational journey of our children. We establish individual goals for our students, ensure that we know the whole child, and strive to help students feel safe taking healthy risks among their peers. Under the careful supervision and guidance of our professional team, we are able to achieve such goals with great success. The Junior School academic program is based on educational best practices rooted in child development research. We strive to create an environment where children are respected as individuals while also learning to be part of a team.

Our faculty is composed of loving and intentional adults who model learning each day. Inquiry is abundant in the “noisy classrooms” of our active learning environment. We support our students, challenge them to stretch themselves, find joy in the learning process, and strive to foster honest and regular communication with our parent body. Together, we work to help Shady Side Academy’s youngest citizens live, learn and give in “The Shady Side Way."

It is a pleasure and privilege to work with so many who take pride in their roles as Shady Side Academy students, families and employees. We are here to help with the natural questions, concerns and developmental experiences that arise during a student’s Junior School experience. In addition, we look forward to sharing more of our school with you and invite you to see for yourselves the unique and exciting educational journey that occurs within Shady Side Academy’s Junior School.

Sincerely,

Ellen McConnell
Head of the Junior School

Shady Side Academy Junior School
400 S. Braddock Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
412-473-4400 phone
412-473-4420 fax