Get To Know Ms. Rebecca Bragan, Steel Valley's New Middle School Principal

There was never any doubt as to what Rebecca Bragan wanted to be when she grew up. The daughter of two educators, Ms. Bragan had a sense from an early age that she wanted to follow in their footsteps. She has the photos to prove it.

“I think it was part of the environment I grew up in,” Ms. Bragan said. “I have a picture of myself in second grade on Career Day as a gym teacher. It's kind of always something I've been wanting to do.”

The new principal at Steel Valley Middle School grew up in Auburn, N.Y., a small city in the Finger Lakes region of central New York. Her mother was a health and physical education teacher in London before she moved to the U.S., where she ran a day habilitation program that worked with adults with disabilities. Ms. Bragan’s father was a principal, superintendent and special education director in the Auburn area. 

“I’m kind of following in my dad’s footsteps a little bit with that,” she said. “I did teach for a good amount of time, but I really jumped into administration when I had that opportunity, which I was very fortunate to have.”

A graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Ms. Bragan earned her master’s degree and principal certification from Duquesne University. She began her career as a health and physical education teacher in the Bethel Park School District, helped create a new physical education curriculum for the Hempfield Area School District, launched her administrative career as dean of students in the Derry Area School District and most recently was a dean of students and assistant middle school principal in the Highlands Area School District.

She recently earned her superintendent papers from Point Park University, where she was encouraged by area superintendents to seek out the opportunity to run her own building. The job at Steel Valley appealed to her. 

“This was the more challenging situation, coming to a new school with new people,” she said. “But what I’d heard about the district was that people try to make a difference, that they worked hard for the sake of the kids, and I think that that's something that I wanted to be part of.”

Ms. Bragan jumped right in, immersing herself in the district by taking part in a door-to-door campaign over the summer to attract charter school students back to Steel Valley. 

“I think one of the biggest takeaways is that families want to be heard,” Ms. Bragan said. “They want to be an active participating member in the decisions that we're making in this district, and the decisions that we're making in the building.”

The middle school students also get opportunities to have a voice. The Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) team came up with the motto of “Keepin’ it R.E.A.L.” for this school year as a way to give students a chance to have a positive influence. The acronym stands for respect, effort, attitude and leadership. The middle school staff will keep an eye out for students who showcase those attributes and reward them as part of an emphasis on positive reinforcement instead of just focusing on disciplining inappropriate behavior.

“We want to be proactive, get positive consequences for appropriate behavior,” Ms. Bragan said. 

The staff will also have a voice. It’s a team that impressed Ms. Bragan upon her arrival over the summer, and it’s her hope that she can help build the kind of systematic, efficient operations that help the staff succeed. 

“It's my job to give those opportunities. This staff has been nothing but wonderful, they work hard, they work hard for kids,” she said. “I mean, it's just completely undeniable and I don't think I would be successful if the staff wasn't who they are. My success is directly related to their success.”