Education category, Page 20
Human relations commission seeks additional feedback on harassment, bullying guidelines
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is seeking feedback as it develops guidelines to address bullying and harassment in schools. The commission released an initial draft of proposed guidelines on Aug. 8. “In August we received more than 70 public comments on our harassment in education guidance,” said commission Executive Director...
Trump’s win brings uncertainty to borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness
Savannah Britt owes about $27,000 on loans she took out to attend college at Rutgers University, a debt she was hoping to see reduced by President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts. Her payments are currently on hold while courts untangle challenges to the loan forgiveness program. But as the...
Penn State greenlights $96M classroom project as 1st-year students set to spike
Penn State University trustees Friday approved a $96 million classroom development at University Park to accommodate expected first-year enrollment growth approaching 1,000 students over the next several years. The project is the largest of the planned work totaling almost $325 million on the main campus and at Penn State Harrisburg...
‘We need to hear their stories’: Seton Hill to host Holocaust education conference for K-12 teachers
Seton Hill will host a conference next week to support local educators teaching the Holocaust. Scheduled for Sunday through Wednesday, the conference will focus on telling the stories of individuals involved in the Holocaust, said James Paharik — director of the university’s National Catholic Center of Holocaust Education. The center...
Pennsylvania faculty union joins national AFT
The union representing more than 5,000 faculty and coaches across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities is the latest to affiliate with AFT, a nationwide union of education and other workers. Members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties approved the affiliation in a three-day election last week. It...
‘Those lost lives can help prevent future lost lives’: Western Pa. schools are rethinking security, experts say
Door locks. Secure entrances. Ballistic window film. Security cameras. Metal detectors. As threats and incidents of violence become more common at schools across the country, educators are seeking out building upgrades to enhance student safety. But to school safety and security expert Aaron Skrbin, talking is the more important first...
New State Board of Higher Education names its executive director
The newly created State Board of Higher Education, tasked with re-imaging oversight of Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities, has named Kate Shaw as executive director. Shaw is deputy secretary for Higher Education within the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She has a decades-long career in government, the private sector and in academia...
Pennsylvania colleges restrict student voter outreach, free speech groups say
Setting up a table on a college campus to encourage voter turnout or promote a political candidate are time-honored student expressions of free speech, as is canvassing door-to-door before an election. But in Pennsylvania, those campus activities have received pushback from a number of school administrators this fall, free speech...
Penn State now the home of the U.S. Supreme Court online database
Legal scholars, political scientists and others simply curious about how the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution since its founding can now turn to Penn State University for answers. That’s because the nation’s high court – more precisely, its online database of cases dating to 1791 — has moved...
Pitt plans to spend $14.5M to tame ‘Cardiac Hill’
Anyone who’s climbed “Cardiac Hill” for a basketball game or class at the University of Pittsburgh will tell you — perhaps after catching their breath — that having an upper and lower campus can be taxing. That’s why Western Pennsylvania’s largest university is prepared to spend $14.5 million to make...
Pitt graduate student workers to vote next month on whether to unionize
Graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh will vote in a state-supervised election next month on whether to join the United Steelworkers, the union already representing faulty and staff there. The election Nov. 18, 19 and 21 involves 2,000 teaching, research and other graduate assistants. It will be overseen...
Chartiers Valley appoints Woodland Hills’ Dan Castagna as superintendent
Chartiers Valley School District has appointed a new superintendent with a base salary of $250,000. The school board Thursday evening voted 6-3 to appoint Dan Castagna, who is currently superintendent of the Woodland Hills School District, as its leader for the next five years. His contract will run from Jan....
West Hempfield elementary school site could be home to new fire station
About five months after Adamsburg fire station crews expressed interest in turning management of its service over to the township, Hempfield is considering building the firefighters a station on Hempfield Area School District property. Over the past several years, the township has invited its 10 fire stations to become “nonchartered”...
Young women lean Democratic. Now the election may hinge on Harris’ ability to run up the score
PITTSBURGH — At the University of Pittsburgh, as freshmen students took their first steps on campus and swarms of lanternflies buzzed through the air, the sounds of Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan drifted from a folding table draped with an iridescent pink tablecloth. Fruit snacks and colorful butterfly hairclips were...
Hempfield approves director position to create innovative programs for students
A week after district officials discussed incorporating a center of innovation into its high school renovation project, the Hempfield Area School Board voted to hire a director for the proposed space. The board unanimously voted Monday evening to create a Director of Innovation, Strategic Programs and Safety position focused on...
Parents sue elite private school in California for expelling 5th-grader over squirt-gun emoji, rap lyrics
LOS ANGELES — The parents of a fifth-grader are suing an elite private Mulholland Drive elementary school after their son was expelled over emails he exchanged with a classmate containing rap lyrics and the squirt gun emoji. The parents allege that the disciplinary action was “arbitrary and capricious” and that...
New campus protest rules spur an outcry from college faculty
Dissent is thriving this fall at American colleges, and not just among student activists. With student protests limited by new restrictions, faculty have taken up the cause. To faculty, new protest rules threaten freedom of speech — and the freedom to think, both central to university life. This semester, some...
Exchange students contribute to fabric of Western Pennsylvania as they experience American culture
When a colleague asked Deer Lakes Spanish teacher Josh Destein if he knew anyone who could host an exchange student from Spain, he jokingly said he could. “I’m single and I have a little house,” he said. “Her face lit up. She got so excited. My little joke turned into...
Biden administration has now canceled loans for more than 1 million public workers
WASHINGTON — A student loan cancellation program for public workers has granted relief to more than 1 million Americans — up from just 7,000 who were approved before it was updated by the Biden administration two years ago. President Joe Biden announced the milestone on Thursday, saying his administration restored...
Hempfield reviews visions for high school renovation project after construction stalled last year
More than a year after halting a high school renovation that came in over budget, Hempfield Area School District is getting back on track with the project. Architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates laid out visions for the project during a school board meeting this week, touching on improvement priorities and...
Pittsburgh Public Schools unveils plan to consolidate, reconfigure facilities
A plan to reduce the footprint of Pittsburgh Public Schools from 54 to 42 schools was introduced Tuesday. Education Resource Strategies suggests closing 14 schools and 10 facilities, reconfiguring 12 schools and opening three new schools. The consultant was hired by the district and examined community feedback and a variety...
Nominations sought for Pennsylvania’s 2026 Teacher of the Year
The state Department of Education invites residents to nominate candidates for the state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. The Teacher of the Year program celebrates educators who’ve made significant contributions in their field. Nominations will be taken through Dec. 16. Finalists are recognized in Harrisburg each fall. The 2025 Teacher...
Hempfield considers redoing auxiliary gym roof, following auditorium roof replacement in August
After replacing its auditorium roof this summer, Hempfield Area High School may see a new roof covering its auxiliary gym. The 7,500-square-foot section of roof is beyond its useful life and leaks into the gym, said Damion Spahr, project executive of the district’s construction manager, SitelogIQ. The gym will require...
Greensburg Salem employees slated for salary, health insurance increases in new contract
Greensburg Salem employees will receive an average annual salary increase of more than 3% across the next five years through a contract approved by the school board. The contract grants an average annual salary increase of 3.19% each year to nearly 200 teachers, nurses and psychologists in the district, Superintendent...
Westmoreland, Allegheny community colleges aim to increase graduation rates with national program
Andrew Barnette wants to spend more time reading names while standing on the stage at Westmoreland County Community College’s graduation ceremony. “I am privileged to be asked every year to read names at graduation,” said Barnette, dean of the School of Art, Humanities, Social Sciences and Public Service. “It’s the...
