Kevin McNair’s presence is felt throughout Pittsburgh Brashear High School.

As he walked through the halls last week to the fifth-period leadership class he co-teaches, one student who recently got her driver’s license emphatically dangled car keys. Another gave a high-five and shared weekend plans. Teachers smiled and welcomed McNair back to the Crane Avenue school in Beechview after he took a few days off work for a trip.

“I pour myself into here every day,” said McNair, 39, of Brookline. “With me living in the community, I see they’re not prepared for life. I want to get them everything they need to be successful in life.”

Since 2013, McNair has been working to prepare students for life.

That year, he started at Brashear as a Heinz Endowments fellow in an effort to improve the school’s graduation rate, which was 80% in the 2024-25 school year.

His initial effort has since blossomed into a mentorship program for African-American youths, called 1Nation Mentoring. Roughly 42% of Brashear students are Black, reports the state Department of Education.

McNair’s presence also led to a student leadership course promoting mediation, conflict resolution and career readiness.

“When the program started, it was, let’s get kids to class,” said Amanda Glisan, a Brashear teacher who co-teaches the “Leader In Me” class with McNair. “Then it was graduation. Now, so many kids are going to college. We set the standards higher each year.”

The yearlong “Leader In Me” class enrolls 12 to 15 juniors and seniors, who are recommended for the class or elect to take it, Glisan said.

Lessons cover communication, social and emotional skills, mindfulness, service learning projects and career exploration.

“This isn’t a cookie-cutter class,” McNair said. “We meet them where they are. We provide a high-level experience but also high-level support. We allow them to know we are a safe space, how can we help with whatever they’re going through.”

‘Bad’ reputation

Such skills are necessary, said Kameah Turner, a junior. She said teenagers deal with issues ranging from low self-esteem, stress, anger and often seek validation.

When there is not a positive role model or trusted adult to turn to, McNair said, teenagers can seek attention through negative behavior. He gave an example of “teen takeovers” — the large, often-unruly flash disturbances coordinated by youths that have become more recurrent in the city.

Brashear’s chronic absenteeism rate during the past two years stood at just over 50%, according to Pittsburgh Public Schools data. Just more than a quarter of students were suspended last year.

“Our reputation is bad. When you tell people you go to school here, they say, ‘I’d never go there,’” said senior Kloey Clark. “People don’t see the normal day at Brashear. They see the fights and what’s on the news. They don’t see the inside of our school.”

As a student, the first instinct is to believe the negativity, said Keith Edmonds Jr. Working with McNair has helped the high school senior change his mindset and lead by example.

“Even though it’s not us doing it, we have the responsibility to say it’s not right, and to not normalize it,” Edmonds said.

That’s where McNair comes in. A highlight of the leadership class is teaching peer mediation. In turn, that’s improved student accountability, said Glisan, the teacher.

Pittsburgh Public’s school board in August renewed a $35,000 contract with 1Nation Mentoring for mentoring services to freshmen and sophomores at Brashear, as well as increasing its mediation and conflict resolution lessons.

“I step in to provide safe spaces, see different views and work past it,” McNair said. “When you have safety on your mind, it’s hard to focus on learning.”

Past class projects have included volunteering at Brashear’s food pantry and beautifying the school, Clark said.

The project, “Meet Someone New Today,” eliminates divides between student groups, and helps students better understand each others’ differences, Glisan said. About 29% of Brashear’s roughly 900 students are non-native English speakers, reports the state Department of Education.

The career exploration portion of the class also helps students feel confident about finding careers they can succeed in, said building Principal Christina Loeffert.

A class visit to the Allegheny County Courthouse last year exposed students to the traditional law and criminal justice fields, McNair said.

But it also opened them to careers they didn’t know about, and the ways they could get those jobs, McNair said. He noted that the Community College of Allegheny County offers an associate’s degree in court reporting and stenography.

“We help students find their identity — who they are now, but who they want to be in the future,” Loeffert said. “This class helps with their goals.”

Success story

Aries Bey, a 2026 Brashear graduate and now a freshman at Duquesne University, said the programs did exactly that.

“When I was younger, I was looking for a sense of community,” said Bey, 18. “I took that opportunity as something to do and it took me to where I am now.”

Bey said he is pursuing a career in education to help give back to the community. He took “Leader In Me” his junior year, which helped refine what he wanted to do as a career, he said.

During his time at Brashear, Bey was captain of both the football and track and field teams. He participated in the superintendent’s Student Voice, a youth empowerment and leadership initiative in the city schools. He also took courses through Brashear’s Emerging Educators, a career and technical education program that prepares students for jobs in teaching.

“I hope my story can resonate with young folks: that a young Black kid from the South Side can make it and give back,” Bey said.