School choice helps launch private school for low-income boys in Pennsylvania

A new private school serving low-income boys is opening this fall in West Mifflin, located 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, made possible in part by Pennsylvania’s private school choice program.

The Tom Johnson Boys’ Academy of the Mon Valley will open this September in a renovated Catholic school building, formerly St. Agnes Catholic School. The school is named after the late Rev. Tom E. Johnson Jr., who spent nearly two decades leading The Neighborhood Academy, a similar faith-based school in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood.

Johnson died in 2024, but his vision for a new school is being carried out by Sheila Rawlings, now the school’s headmaster. She and the board have raised $1 million so far to purchase and renovate the 16,000-square-foot building, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The school will enroll 45 students this fall in grades six, nine and 10. Tuition will be on a sliding scale based on income. Families making $35,000 or less per year will pay just $50 per month.

“We want to ensure that, regardless of income or ZIP code, these young men have access to a high-quality, college-preparatory education rooted in mentorship and opportunity,” Rawlings said.

The school is eligible to receive scholarship funding through the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, which allows businesses to support students at private schools in exchange for tax credits. The school plans to tap into the program to receive outside funding, the report said.

The building upgrades include a science lab, dining area, reading and writing center, wellness room, arts space and fitness center. The school day will run from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; the school day will end at 5 p.m. on Fridays.

The program includes tutoring, counseling, transportation, meals and faith-based activities. Rawlings called it a “360-degree” approach focused on helping students grow in all areas of life.

The school builds on a summer academy program that Johnson launched before his death. Nearly all of the students from that program plan to enroll in the new school this fall.

“What began as a dream of our late founder – who gave his life to this mission – has now become a reality,” Rawlings said.

School counselor Sharease Quinn said she’s excited for the school year to start.

“I’m very excited. It’s needed, especially in this neighborhood,” she said. “Some of these boys don’t have much. They don’t see healthy relationships at home. Everything is about relationships, people and things. They’re so deserving. They’re so determined. They all want something different. That’s what adolescents need.”