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Shaler Area renames walking trail and Extra Mile Award for Reserve Primary teacher
Kim Baysek-Young, a beloved third-grade teacher at Reserve Primary School, passed away early in the 2020-21 school year, and recent board action ensures her memory will live on within Shaler Area School District.
 
In March 2021, the Shaler Area School Board approved the request to honor Mrs. Baysek-Young by renaming the walking trail on the Reserve Primary School campus. Superintendent Sean Aiken also formally announced that the district’s Extra Mile Award would be renamed in her honor. Both changes were the recommendation of an ad hoc committee of parents, teachers, staff, and administrators formed to consider an appropriate way to honor Mrs. Baysek-Young’s memory.
 
“Mrs. Baysek-Young was an amazing educator who cared deeply for her students and community,” Dr. Aiken said. “Honoring her by renaming the Reserve Primary School walking trail and district’s Extra Mile Award will be a way to memorialize her at the school and in the community that she loved as well as within the entire Shaler Area school community.”
 
The walking trail is a 0.2 mile path on the primary school’s campus that circles the baseball field and recreation area. The trail will officially be dedicated later this year in a ceremony that will include her students. 
 
Mrs. Baysek-Young had a passion for teaching students and making connections to the classroom through everyday activities. This will be memorialized through in the creation of informational markers to be placed along the walking trail that will educate recreationists on local facts and history.
 
The district’s annual Extra Mile Award, which recognizes district employees who have gone above and beyond for their students or school community, will be renamed the “Kim Baysek-Young Extra Mile Award.”
 
Mrs. Baysek-Young received the award in 2019 for her unwavering support of students. During her 22 years with Shaler Area, Mrs. Baysek-Young was an integral part of multiple schoolwide programs and community events and went above and beyond to provide students with educational opportunities and experiences. Mrs. Baysek-Young took a leadership role in the school’s partnership with and support of The Highmark Caring Place program. Through the creation of the Reserve Primary Caring Program, the school raised thousands of dollars in support of The Highmark Caring Place and grieving children. 

She also helped facilitate Reserve Primary’s partnership with many Pittsburgh organizations to provide educational schoolwide assemblies and field trips to the entire student body. Mrs. Baysek-Young prepared countless students for their transition to fourth grade and each year focused her efforts on organizing an annual third-grade field trip to Lutherlyn, an outdoor recreation camp, that extended beyond the school day. Additionally, she secured funds through donations and fundraising efforts so that every Reserve Primary third-grade student could participate in this experience at no cost. Mrs. Baysek-Young’s focus on fostering partnerships between the school and community also led to the creation of the Lend An Ear and Tail Waggin’ Readers programs at Reserve Primary, which encouraged community members’ involvement in the school.
 
In addition to being a third-grade teacher, Mrs. Baysek-Young served in the technology support position for Reserve Primary School to provide technical support to staff. She went the extra mile to bring new and current technologies into the classroom such as partnering with Carnegie Mellon University to integrate the use of Exact Path, which utilizes adaptive diagnostic assessments to offer targeted instruction.
 
Mrs. Baysek-Young’s dedication to her students extended beyond the classroom. She served as the teacher representative to the Reserve Parent Club, and on Black Friday, Mrs. Baysek-Young could be found shopping for families from Shaler Area School District to make their holidays brighter. 
 
“Kim Baysek-Young lived her professional life and personal life by going the ‘extra mile’ for the Reserve students, families, staff, and community,” Dr. Aiken said. 
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1800 Mt. Royal Boulevard     Glenshaw, PA. 15116     P 412-492-1200     F 412-492-1236
1800 Mt. Royal Boulevard Glenshaw, PA. 15116 P 412-492-1200 F 412-492-1236
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