Pressley Ridge School for Autism

PRSA headed back to the great outdoors for our annual camping trip! 🏕️ This year we returned to Raccoon State Park for two nights filled with adventure, laughter, and LOTS of s’mores. 🍫🔥

Even with some rainy weather, our campers made the most of every minute — splashing in the creek, hiking the trails, and even turning over rocks to discover salamanders during one of our creek explorations! 🦎💦

The highlight of the trip? Definitely gathering around the campfire making s’mores and memories together. We are so proud of our students for embracing the adventure and making this trip such a success! ❤️

Pittsburgh legends Brett Keisel and Marc‑André Fleury are standing with Pressley Ridge — and need more champions to join their team.

💙 Kids and families facing their toughest moments need support now more than ever. A gift tonight helps provide hope, healing and someone in their corner.

🌟 Don’t wait — be a champion while there’s still time.

Give now: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/aVFHfg?vid=1qa0rp

Every child deserves a champion — and today, that champion can be you.

💙💚 Throwback Thursday

How many faces do you recognize in this picture from 10 years ago?

Students and staff had a fantastic afternoon at PRSA as we sorted our newest team members into their RCA houses! 🎉

Ms. Helena and Ms. Lisa joined *Reveur* 💙, Ms. Katie and Ms. Ashaki are now part of *Isibindi*💚, and Ms. Val found her home in *Altruismo*🖤!

We celebrated together with a dance party, lots of bubbles, and Rita’s Italian Ice—in our house colors, of course! 💙💚❤️🖤

It was a joyful way to welcome our new staff and build connections across our school community!

Check out our friend Evan! We are so proud of all that he has accomplished this school year!

“Success looks different for every student—and for Evan, success is found in the small but powerful steps forward.”

In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, we are celebrating Evan, who joined Pressley Ridge School for Autism in 2024 to receive educational support. Since then, Evan has made incredible progress and continues to thrive in the school setting. Read more about Evan's story here: https://www.pressleyridge.org/stories/evans-story/

🌎💚 Earth Day at Pressley Ridge School for Autism 💚🌎

The staff in Altruismo House planned a fun and meaningful Earth Day filled with presentations and hands-on activities for students across PRSA and PRSD!

Each house led a special activity:
🌱 Altruismo kicked things off with an engaging presentation
🐦 Reveur helped students create bird feeders
🌼 Isibindi guided students in planting seeds
🧹 Amistad led a campus clean-up effort

It was a wonderful day of teamwork, learning, and giving back. Together, we made our little piece of Earth a little more beautiful! 💚🌍

Speech group isn’t just about practicing words, it’s about building confidence, connection, and independence. For our high school students, Miss Alyson has been working with a speech group to provide a space to fine-tune real-world communication skills like navigating conversations, advocating for themselves, understanding social cues, and building meaningful relationships.

We love watching students grow more comfortable expressing their thoughts, asking for what they need, and engaging with peers in authentic ways. These are the skills that carry far beyond the classroom into friendships, jobs, and everyday life. So proud of the progress happening in speech group!

🏀✨ March Madness… but make it SNACKS! ✨🏀

Staff at PRSA spent the month of March battling it out in our *March Snack Bracket*—where the competition was fierce and the flavors were even fiercer! Each week, staff brought in their best snack game, and votes rolled in as we narrowed it down to the tastiest treats.

After weeks of delicious showdowns, it all came down to the final two… 🥁

🍔 Ms. Ro’s *Big Mac Egg Rolls*
🥗 Ms. Duke’s *Pasta Salad*

And the winner is… **MS. RO!** 🎉👏

Her crowd-pleasing Big Mac Egg Rolls took the championship title and our taste buds are still celebrating!

Thank you to all of our staff who participated and made March extra fun (and extra delicious)! Who’s ready for next year’s bracket? 😋

During a break in the hallway, something unexpected and genuinely joyful unfolded at Pressley Ridge School for Autism.

Dominic had been playing with his teacher when he started inviting others to join him. Each time a staff member walked by, he would eagerly run up, take their hand, and say, “come sit.” One by one, people joined in. Before long, the hallway turned into a spontaneous game of Simon Says mixed with a sing-along—complete with clapping, “The Wheels on the Bus,” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”

Every time someone joined in, Dominic’s face lit up. His excitement was contagious, drawing in not just staff, but also a few students who shared in the moment.

It was a simple interaction, but it reflected something much bigger. Pressley Ridge follows the philosophy of Re-EDucation, which emphasizes that children should experience joy each day and that everyone is both a teacher and a learner. In that hallway, those ideas came to life—through laughter, connection, and a child leading the way.

The saying, "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb," holds true for us at PRSA! We had a busy month and we haven't shared all the fun things our staff and student have been doing. So today, for World Autism Acceptance Day, we present to you, March!

Staff and students participated in a Souper Bowl. Classrooms, teachers, and ancillary staff came together to sample many types of soup! Mrs. Ro's room conducted a science experiment to make rainbow bubbles. The students also had to work together to hypothesize why the experiment initially failed. PRSA and PRSD hosted an art show where families were invited to see all the great art work our students have made. Our good friend Noah has been excelling at the GoodWill and shifted to full time! To wrap up March, the school had an RCA Hype Day where students from various campus programs came together to play board games and share their house chants!

We cannot wait to celebrate our students throughout the month of April and continue to bring acceptance to the autism community 🙂

PRSA has a 2 hour delay today for students. Staff to report by 9.