McKnight kindergartners cheer on teacher's son as his swim team captures gold at states

A teacher recently had a full-circle moment with her North Allegheny senior son when he visited her kindergarten class at McKnight Elementary School.

Grant Regule, son of Diane Regule and a member of North Allegheny’s swimming and diving team, was preparing for the WPIALs in February.

When Diane shared the information with her students, one of them decided to bring in a card of encouragement for Grant. This fit in perfectly with McKnight’s positive behavior incentive where students can earn a “McKnight Shield” for being courageous, kind, responsible and motivated.

“I told that little boy how kind that was of him and gave him a Kind Shield for making me happy as well as my son. Well, from there it was a domino effect,” she said, as more students made cards and posters.

“Over the next two weeks, I would hang a homemade card or a few on my son’s door each night, and it would truly make Grant’s day,” she said.

There was a small handful of cards that came right before the WPIALS, but then the majority continued coming and were hung until his bedroom door was covered with them before he left for states at Bucknell University.

“I was completely surprised by it. My entire door was covered with cards. I loved the support knowing that so many of her students looked up to me,” said Grant, who also is on the North Allegheny Water Polo team.

The North Allegheny team won its first title since winning three in a row from 2017-19, scoring 215 points, according to PIAA results.

Diane said it became a special “senior memory” for her son and also for her as a parent.

Grant was on one of the 200 free relays that won PIAA gold and placed fifth in the 50 free at states, according to a March 22 TribLive article. North Allegheny was motivated, determined to regain PIAA boys swimming title.

When the senior requested his mom to thank her class, she thought the thank-you would be better done with an in-person visit.

“I make everything a teachable moment,” said Diane of Franklin Park.

She arranged for him to come in the morning and afternoon sessions.

“The kids got to see his medals, try them on and then we had a question-and-answer session,” Diane said.

In “true kindergarten fashion,” he was asked about his favorite color, his favorite fruit and similar questions, she said.

But then they had more relatable inquiries, such as what was his favorite pool for practices, how many medals he won and if he always loved to swim, she said.

“You could tell that meant something that they got to meet him,” Diane said.

The 18-year-old took the time to share some hard-earned North Allegheny senior wisdom with the youngsters.

Grant advised the students to try out different activities before committing to just one. He shared how he played baseball and basketball before discovering that swimming was his favorite sport. And he said being committed to an activity, program or club helps him stay on a routine and be more organized. It also is a good way to stay away from too much electronics.

“I just emphasized to be involved in something outside of school sport or club or music. I found it so helpful because it gives you a schedule. You need to work around your free time. Keep your grades up. It helps you in life. I know not to procrastinate so I get my studying in,” Grant said.

Diane hopes the day stays with her students.

“My hope is that it will be a small memory for some of my students, and you never know which one or two will take this visit and aim to pick their sport or passion, and just maybe they will be part of the continuing winning teams that North Allegheny seems to create through hard work, lots of practices, while also aiming to be scholar athletes,” she said.

She was truly impressed with her students and said it matched with McKnight’s logo “We are a big school with a bigger heart.”

Diane, who has two older North Allegheny graduates, both daughters, said spending the day overall with her son was “bittersweet.”

Grant also received the 2024 Scholastic All-America athlete award. While she said her son has been blessed to be a natural swimmer, as a teacher and parent she’s most proud of him maintaining good grades while swimming.