Pat, a grandmother from Elizabeth, is a hard-working woman for one of the law firms tucked into Downtown Pittsburgh. She was taking papers to the courthouse when she stopped to watch the youngsters skating on The Rink at PPG Place this afternoon.

"I think it's nice," she mused as they circled the giant Christmas tree at the center of the rink. "They have so many young people Downtown doing nothing. At least they could do that."

Pat has never been on ice skates. There was a time, she admitted, when she roller-skated, but that was years ago. She said she wouldn't be comfortable on blades.

She's not alone. A young girl, Chenoa, 15, had never been on ice skates before today. But with a friend hanging on to each elbow -- Abby on one side, Bianca on the other -- she's giving it a slow and awkward go. (Not too far from the railing.)

"I was a little bit nervous," Chenoa said, "because I didn't want to fall."

Of course, she did. This is ice skating; everybody falls, even Olympians. But she got back up.

"I went around on the rail one time," she said afterward. "I would go again."

Chenoa, Abby and Bianca were three of the 13 students from The Neighborhood Academy on a field trip today to The Rink at PPG Place. The young people, ages 14 to 16, were under the supervision of Gary Shawley, 30, a teacher at the private, faith-based prep school in Garfield.

The trip to the rink was part research, part reward, Mr. Shawley said.

"These are the kids who got As and Bs in our reading and writing course," he said. "We did a research paper on Christmases in different countries, so we came down to see the display in the [PPG Place] WinterGarden, looking at all the Santa Clauses from different countries.

"Afterward, we thought it would be a treat to try skating. For some, this is the first time they've experienced it."

Such as Donquia, 16, who was not about to be left sitting on the sidelines while Marcell, 15, the vice president of student council, sped away.

The search for the best skater in the bunch resulted in a burst of good-natured boasting from several of the more enthusiastic boys. Fred, 14, whose mother works in one of the PPG buildings, noted that this was not his first time on ice skates.

"I come down here a lot, all the time," he said, "but I only skate once a year."

The trip from The Neighborhood Academy to The Rink at PPG Place isn't that hard; just from Penn Avenue in Garfield to the heart of Downtown. And yet it isn't easy, either.

As detailed in the pages of the Post-Gazette by staff writer Erv Dyer, the school for disadvantaged youths sprouted from a 1989 summer program called the Larimer Avenue Youth Club, founded by the Rev. Thomas Johnson and Jodie Moore, both graduates of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Through having small classes and requiring tougher study habits, college visits, mandatory summer school and counseling for students and parents, the academy hopes to rescue public school students felled by low expectations and generational poverty.

According to my co-worker, it takes roughly $1.5 million a year to run the school, which survives on funding from faith groups and foundations. Tuition is charted on a sliding-fee scale based on income, but families are asked to pay at least $50 a month.

Mr. Shawley, of Donora, has been at the academy for two years. Besides teaching the reading and writing course, he serves as the girls' basketball coach and the cross country coach.

It was his idea to take to the rink. And he, too, donned the blue rental skates available at the pro shop. It had been eight years since he last ice skated -- "If I want to stop, I either hit the wall or fall," he said -- and a few of his students spun circles around him.

"They're fun; they had a good time, and that was the whole purpose," he said after returning the skates. "It's the holiday; the last day of school before the break is Friday."

Pat, the woman standing alongside the rink, watched the young people -- and their wobbly teacher -- without knowing the group they were with. She just knew that it was nice to watch them having fun on the ice.

"It's healthy; they have supervision," she said. "I think Pittsburgh should have more things for young people. I really do."

Too often, she said, they're up the street in a basement arcade playing violent video games.

"They're in there playing games, doing nothing," she said. "And those video game arcades cost money. You're going to spend a lot more there than you are skating. Plus, it doesn't seem to generate a good caliber of people."

Sometimes, the kids skating on thin ice are the ones gliding to success.