District Judge Peck Yakopec stresses importance of staying in school

Cheryl Peck Yakopec introduced herself, not as a judge, but as a “Valley girl” to students attending an after-school program at the Salvation Army in New Kensington.

Peck Yakopec, a district judge in Lower Burrell and Allegheny Township for 28 years, said she was among the students who voted to name Valley High School after the merger of the New Kensington and Arnold school districts in 1965.

She said students from the rival schools considered “lame” names like Ar-Ken and Ken-Ar before settling on Valley, influenced in part by the song “Valley High,” which was popularized on a Saturday morning radio show on WKPA.

“I did not like going to high school,” Peck Yakopec told them, before later detailing the education she received after high school and stressing the importance of staying in school and graduating. “School is the best time of your life.”

Peck Yakopec was a guest speaker Thursday at the Salvation Army’s Bridging the Gap initiative, a free 12-week life skills program for youths 12 to 17. It’s being held again after having been paused because of the pandemic, program director Gabrielle Ham said.

The program targets children who are considered at-risk because of issues such as school truancy, discipline and being suspended from school or on probation, said Ham, a 2010 Valley High graduate and New Kensington resident.

“We take referrals from schools, from courts and probation,” she said. “If a parent feels their child could benefit, we want them to come and do an application.”

When they meet from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Salvation Army on Third Street, Ham said the children learn how to better themselves and can talk about their struggles in and outside of school. They also get a meal.

Ham is drawing on her own life experience in teaching the children.

“I grew up with getting in trouble in school. I went through the court system as a child,” Ham said. “Now, I just want to give back to my community.”

Ham said she is working in field trips and guest speakers, such as Peck Yakopec. While no trips were yet planned, she would like to take the students to places such as the Carnegie Science Center and National Aviary in Pittsburgh.

Speaking to three students, ages 12 and 13, Peck Yakopec told them how she decided to go to college after realizing the person she was working for after high school was making twice as much because he had a degree.

She then went to law school because her brother was a lawyer and working as a public defender, which sounded like an exciting job.

Peck Yakopec was an assistant public defender in Westmoreland County from 1982 until becoming a district judge in 1994.

She told the students about her work as a judge and the various kinds of cases she sees, including students who get in trouble for missing school, drugs and alcohol, and smoking or fighting in school. She described classes and programs she can put students in instead of fining them in hopes of changing their behavior.

Students should report bullying to teachers or their parents, Peck Yakopec said. If attacked, they shouldn’t fight back unless they get backed into a corner, she added.

“The schools have zero tolerance for any fighting,” she said. “If you can avoid it, avoid it.”

She said it’s bad when kids come to school high or smelling of alcohol.

“It’s way too early to be starting those problems,” she said. “Bad things happen when alcohol and drugs are involved.”

Ham said students are able to join Bridging the Gap at any time. Seven students currently are enrolled, with three to four attending on a regular basis.

For information about the program, including which areas are eligible, contact the New Kensington Salvation Army at 724-335-7620, ext. 100.