Education category, Page 21
Pine-Richland School Board rejects book during heated meeting
The Pine-Richland School Board voted against incorporating “Angel of Greenwood,” a novel set during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, into its ninth grade curriculum during an often hostile meeting Jan. 13 that stretched nearly to midnight. Board members, administrators and several public attendees traded barbs over the district’s ongoing controversy...
Millions have had student loans canceled under Biden — despite the collapse of his forgiveness plan
WASHINGTON — Despite failing to deliver his promise for broad student loan forgiveness, President Joe Biden has now overseen the cancellation of student loans for more than 5 million Americans — more than any other president in U.S. history. In a last-minute action on Monday, the Education Department canceled loans...
Student information system used by Southwestern Pa. schools grapples with cybersecurity breach
School districts across Southwestern Pennsylvania might be impacted by a cybersecurity breach of global student information system PowerSchool, the company said. PowerSchool is a internet-based platform where educators can store student information, according to its website — including academic performance, class schedule, demographics, behavior and health. Launched in 1997, the...
Regional learning alliance offers school districts opportunities to innovateVideo
California Area School District is 3D printing its way into an elementary orchestra program. The Washington County school district, where a third of residents live below the poverty line, is not able to provide students with costly string instruments, nor are many of its families in a position to rent...
‘Culmination of my life’s work’: Pitt names Jerry Dickinson as new law school dean
When Jerry Dickinson’s mother died in the fall of 2023, he was approached at the service by an older man who introduced himself as George Pettrone, Pitt Law, 1976. “Vice Dean Dickinson, it’s a pleasure to meet you again,” the man said. “I haven’t seen you for 33 years.” Dickinson,...
Greensburg Salem art students display work at Seton Hill gallery, gain ‘authentic’ experience
After four months of brainstorming, sketching and developing a portfolio of artwork, nine Greensburg Salem High School students’ art is on display at the Seton Hill Art Center. The art show, displayed in Seton Hill’s Jodee Harris Gallery, is considered the final exam for Greensburg Salem’s AP Art and Portfolio...
Kansas City Chiefs president among those to be honored at North Allegheny Foundation Alumni Gala
Tickets are now on sale for the 2025 NA Distinguished Alumni Gala to be held Jan. 23 at the Holy Trinity Center, 985 Providence Blvd., in McCandless. “As usual, there is an amazing group of honorees, including the Soergel family, who is receiving the Spirit of NA award for their...
Greensburg Salem considers accepting grant to train teachers in mental health program
Greensburg Salem teacher Taylor Guido has seen firsthand how taking care of her mental health benefits her students. But it wasn’t until she attended a mental health-focused camp in Somerset County that she learned this valuable lesson. That’s why the district has proposed a program to train its teachers in...
Snow doesn’t mean postponements for W.Pa. school districts, although some still opt to cancel
Before snow started to fall Sunday night, many Western Pennsylvania school districts made the decision to cancel Monday’s classes or shift to remote instruction. Districts opting to use a flexible instruction day asked students to use computers to complete schoolwork from home. Students in districts that canceled classes enjoyed what...
New year, new focus on performing arts at Point Park, president says
Point Park University is revamping its performing arts department, it announced Monday. The School of Dance and the School of Theatre, Film and Animation will be the two parts of Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. “With having these two new focused schools, we’re really positioning Point Park and Downtown...
Elon Musk’s preschool is next step in his anti-woke education dreams
Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture,...
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe aims to fly closer to the sun like never before
NEW YORK — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun’s corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a...
White House starts scrapping pending regulations on transgender athletes and student debt
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is abandoning his efforts to provide some protections for transgender student athletes and cancel student loans for more than 38 million Americans, the first steps in an administration-wide plan to jettison pending regulations to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from retooling them to achieve his own...
International students urged to return to U.S. campuses before Trump inauguration
CONCORD, N.H. — A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are advising international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, over concerns that he might impose travel bans like he did during his first administration. More than a dozen schools have issued advisories, even though...
Sarah Heinz House event empowers young girls to break barriers in STEM
Women make up 35 percent of STEM positions across the world, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering. During the Reimagining Opportunities to Achieve and Rise (ROAR) event at the Sarah Heinz House on the North Side on Wednesday, young girls were given the chance to see firsthand...
Plum High School students attend Junior Achievement of Western Pa. Stock Market Challenge
Plum High School student Eli Pollak has a financial strategy. “The earlier you start, like at our age, investing, the more money you will make,” said Pollak, who attended the Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania Stock Market Challenge presented by Citizens on Thursday, Dec. 12 at Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s...
Junior Achievement of Western Pa. hosts high school students for stock market competition
In the volatile world of the stock market, the difference between finishing on top and, say, 98th place is about three minutes. At least that’s one of the lessons learned by budding Deer Lakes School District investors. “The stock market is unpredictable,” said Sam Guthrie, a Deer Lakes senior and...
Hempfield Area police chief set to retire, former Jeannette police chief to take his place
After a decade serving as police chief for Hempfield Area School District, Len Lander will retire from his post. Former Jeannette police Chief Shannon Binda will take the reins in the new year, following a vote by the school board Monday. Lander was a state police trooper from 1991 to...
Hempfield Area to tackle 1 of 3 roof replacements, test pool ahead of high school renovation
As Hempfield Area moves forward with a nearly $281,000 roof repair at Fort Allen Elementary, the district also plans to address projected million dollar roof projects at two of its other schools next summer. The school board voted Monday to hire Garland Company Inc. to replace the roof covering Fort...
‘Polarization’ is Merriam-Webster’s 2024 word of the year
The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific...
Westinghouse Academy students celebrated for academic achievements, resilience
On a recent bitter cold Friday, the Westinghouse Academy in Homewood was full of warmth. An assembly, All Lives Matter to Do the Right Thing, presented by Help the Needy Not the Greedy and The Youth Project Inc., honored students for their academic accomplishments and added sparkle to their holiday...
Penn State trustees pass almost 85% of measures without a single dissenting vote
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. When...
Greensburg Salem approves $68K contract to upgrade sound systems in high school gym, auditorium
Greensburg Salem will spend nearly $68,000 to upgrade sound systems in the high school gym and auditorium. The current systems are antiquated and unreliable, Superintendent Ken Bissell said. “There are times where kids onstage are singing or saying their lines and it cuts out,” Bissell said of the auditorium system....
Botched FAFSA rollout, state upgrades mean college students are still waiting for critical grant money
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The money for the fall semester normally arrives in September. By the last week of November, with the end of the semester in...
Inauguration set for Jon Anderson as 2nd PennWest University president
Jon Anderson will be formally installed as Pennsylvania Western University’s second president in a Dec. 6 ceremony on the university’s California campus. The inauguration ceremony is set for 2 p.m. in Steele Hall’s Mainstage Theatre. The event will be livestreamed at pennwest.edu/inauguration, with watch parties planned in the Gemmell Student...
