In 2017, Upper St. Clair School District was selected as one of three national Grand Prize Winners in the 23rd annual Magna Awards program sponsored by the National School Boards Association’s magazine, American School Board Journal. Specifically, Upper St. Clair was recognized for its SHOP@USC program. The Magna Awards recognize school districts and their leaders for taking bold and innovative steps to improve the lives of their students and their communities.
SHOP@USC is a pioneering, student-run business, which operates fully through the collaboration between students with significant disabilities and their same age peers without disabilities. Within SHOP, students produce and sell greeting cards, business cards, signs/banners, laser-engraved items and USC spirit wear merchandise.
As the Grand Prize Winner in the under 5,000 students category, Upper St. Clair School District’s SHOP@USC program was highlighted in the April 2017 issue of the American School Board Journal magazine and received a $5,000 contribution. All 33 award-winning school districts were formally recognized during a special presentation at NSBA’s 77th Annual Conference, March 25-27, 2017, in Denver.
Including the SHOP@USC program, Upper St. Clair has earned a total of three Magna Awards. The High School’s therapeutic emotional support program was recognized in 2020 and the District's Student Leadership Academy, which helps students understand how they can change the world through their leadership, received the honor in 2013.