Deep into Mrs. Pellegrino’s life and how she handles it: An interview

Jessica Pellegrino is always noticed making hallways a little brighter, smiles a little larger, and overall cheering up her peers and students, especially in the commons area during lunch and learn. Mrs. Jessica Pellegrino is the new assistant principal at GLHS.

Deep into Mrs. Pellegrino’s life and how she handles it: An interview

Jessica Pellegrino is always noticed making hallways a little brighter, smiles a little larger, and overall cheering up her peers and students, especially in the commons area during lunch and learn. Mrs. Jessica Pellegrino is the new assistant principal at GLHS.
Pellegrino’s kind-heartedness is an important role to her as she always makes sure to say “good morning”. She may pull you aside and ask you about your weekend or she’ll pull you aside just to ask you how you are especially if you look down that day. She’ll make a point to compliment you, and she always says she supports you and will help you with anything. Lots of her students have said that Pellegrino is a very good fit for her job.
One of the things Pellegrino loves most is talking with students. “My favorite part is talking to students; getting to know students on a deeper level and helping solve problems,” said the newest addition to the administration of GLSH.
Moving from the classroom to the office, Pellegrino handles the new job very well because of the stepping stones from where she came. After graduating from GLSH in 2007, she earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown in 2011. She earned her master’s degree from Delaware University in 2017. She worked hard and stayed focused on her goals to give back to the community as an educator.
Pellegrino was interested in being in administrative work before she got into it. “I was first a teacher for eight years at Latrobe then when I went to get my master’s degree in Educational Leadership and it piqued my interest in moving into an administrative position,” she explained. “I also grew up here and I have family here so this is home.”
When in her element, beautiful pictures of her family and her hang around her office. She seemed very proud to say who was all in each of the photos and the stories behind them. Many of the photos included her husband of eight years, her step-son Joey, 12, who goes to Plum, and her smiling 3-year-old daughter named Charlotte. Pellegrino smiles at the photos of her family and of her Colorguard family.
Pellegrino boasts about her colleagues and she shared pleasant things about them. “I love the office team; they’re very helpful,” she said. “I’m the ‘newbie’ here and they have been very patient and understanding with me.”
As an assistant principal, Pellegrino sees the talent in the community of Greater Latrobe. “We have the best teachers in the world,” she said confidently. She said that she is “lucky to work here”.
Pellegrino looks at life realistically in 2021. “I worry about the students, families, and just the overall worry over getting all of the work done because it feels as if sometimes there isn’t enough time to,” she said.
Pellegrino appreciates every one of her staff members. “I could say something good about everybody here, so this is hard” … “a lot of people make me smile and laugh even on challenging days.”
“My mind keeps on going back to our resource officers, knowing that they have the most serious job of keeping us safe and still can make me laugh and put a smile on my face.”
“The secretaries run the school and are very kind and the most helpful,” she admitted.
“Our custodian, George, is so reliable and always says hello.”
“Mr. Mains and Mr. Ingel are always patient with me even though I ask a lot of questions. The counselors are a good resource for me. The teachers keep the building running so that’s a very hard question to answer… Everyone is important here.”
She handles the job well even when giving consequences to students.“One of my foundational beliefs is that people are inherently good, so when speaking with a student about the choices they made, I can separate the student from the choice. My job is to help not punish. Number one rule for me is leading with kindness.”
She didn’t pick her job to get kids in trouble she picked it to make the hallways a little happier. She was very proud to talk about her position at Greater Latrobe High School. She also made it clear that she appreciates everyone she works with and will continue to do so. Pellegrino is very passionate about GLSH and continues to help the students around here. If ever needed she is always there for you and will continue to be. Jessica Pellegrino is the new assistant principal for GLSH and is a good fit for the district.