"The Bus" Takes A Ride To Reward Woodland Hills High School

WOODLAND HILLS (KDKA) -- Even though he has been out of football for almost a decade, Jerome Bettis is still a fan favorite.

Friday, he had students and teachers cheering when he visited Woodland Hills High School.

Bettis was at the school to present a check for $5,000 for a tutoring project.

The grant money comes from S&T Bank's "My School My Award" program and will pay for seniors to help teach freshmen.

"The seniors are tutoring the freshmen. Studies have shown that your peers leave a lasting impression on you and so if they're the ones that tutor you, then it sticks," says President and CEO of S&T Bank Todd Brice.

Brice says the tutorial program of Woodland Hills High School is a great program.

"It promotes education which is very important to S&T Bank, because it promotes strong communities and thriving communities. We are so grateful to be here today and have some fun with the bus," he said.

Senior tutors say they can't wait to help the freshmen.

"A lot of high school students lose hope, start slipping, barely passing by but I want to show them that high school can be a good thing. You can learn. We are here to help with however slow or fast you need to go," Woodland Hills student and tutor Megan Owens says.

Woodland Hills' peer assisted program goes by the acronym PASS, irony not lost on the running back who ran for more than 13,000 yards.

"Pittsburgh is about the ground game so yeah, the PASS program we have to work on that. We can find an 'R' in there somewhere," Bettis jokes.

Even with the ironic program name, the Bus certainly supports efforts to make sure students get passing marks in school.

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