Allegheny County’s smallest school district depends on big community spirit

Cornell School District students walk between classes on Feb. 15, at the Coraopolis middle school. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource) Administrators at the Cornell School District say they foster an all-hands-on-deck approach to the challenges of a dwindling student population that’s also swelling with English language learners. by Lajja Mistry, PublicSource The staff at Cornell wears many hats.& Cristy Meinert’s classroom is a testament to this multitasking ethos. Half of the classroom is typically occupied by small groups of students who work with her one-on-one on their literacy and math skills for about half an hour daily. The other half houses a large table with robotic cars and towers made of Legos. Meinert, a reading specialist in elementary school, also mentors students for the FIRST Lego League Challenge, a global competition in which students build robots out of Legos to complete different missions. She teaches them basic codes to control the robots.& “It kind of makes teaching exciting — you having the opportunity to do different things,” she said. “I think if you were required to do it, that would be a barrier. But I think that the way that our school approaches it, we are asked, ‘Would you like to...