Education category, Page 28
New York moves to limit ‘addictive’ social media feeds for kids
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a bill that would allow parents to block their children from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm, a move to limit feeds critics argue are addictive. Under the legislation, feeds on apps like TikTok and Instagram would be limited...
Podcast: Penn State and the higher education divide
Is there an impending higher educational divide? Penn State announced the restructuring plan for its branch campuses this week. Two local branches, Fayette and New Kensington, will be consolidated under the Allegheny branch. This also comes with a 10% decrease in staff and faculty for all bridge campuses. Simultaneously, Penn...
When colleges close, students are left scrambling. Some never go back to school
PHILADELPHIA — Katherine Anderson trekked from Texas to Philadelphia last year for a college program she couldn’t find anywhere else, combining the music business, entrepreneurship and technology. Two weeks ago, she received the startling news the university would be shutting down within days. The closure of the University of the...
Random searches at Hempfield Area could continue in next school year
Hempfield Area School District’s safety and security committee is recommending the district continue with random searches of students into the new school year. The committee is also recommending the district buy two weapons detectors to be used in random searches at the district’s two middle schools, Harrold school and the...
Proposed IUP medical school gets $20M pledge from foundation, support from Pa. legislators
A college of osteopathic medicine proposed by Indiana University of Pennsylvania has secured a $20 million commitment from its foundation, the largest gift toward the initiative to date. In announcing the commitment Monday, the Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania said its board is unanimous in support for what would...
Are Penn State cuts a preview of higher education divide?
The gap between Penn State University’s sprawling main campus and its 20 branches can be measured these days in ways more personal and profound than highway miles. Stung by double-digit enrollment losses, the branch campuses and their students are about to lose 10% of their faculty and staff to buyouts...
Jay-Z enters one of Pa.’s messiest political fights
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 — A series of events intended to get Philadelphians to support using taxpayer money to fund private school vouchers is bankrolled by an unexpected...
Marquette University President Michael Lovell, who had ties to Pitt, dies at 57
Michael Lovell, the president of Marquette University with deep ties to the University of Pittsburgh, died in Rome on Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 57 and grew up in Meadville. Lovell earned three mechanical engineering degrees including a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 1994. He...
New Kensington innovation projects to continue despite changes at Penn State
As chancellor of Penn State New Kensington, one of Kevin Snider’s goals was to sink his campus’ roots so deeply into the city that its initiatives would continue without him. Now that he’s set to retire at the end of the year with his campus falling under a new leadership...
Deficit, enrollment trends spur leadership revamp for Penn State’s Fayette campus
Students value the small-college atmosphere at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus near Uniontown, but that increasingly intimate nature is triggering a major change. In the face of declining enrollment and budget deficits, Penn State is consolidating oversight of some of its branch campuses and is paring its payroll. The...
Hempfield Area to vote on 5-mill tax hike, elimination of 2 librarian and 4 teacher positions
Two librarian positions, one special education teacher position, and three teacher positions are up for elimination at Hempfield Area School District as part of a proposed budget that includes a 5-mill tax hike. The district is set to vote on its nearly $109.6 million budget for 2024-2025 on June 24....
Penn State restructures branch campuses, including New Kensington and Fayette
Penn State University is switching to a regional model of overseeing many of its branch campuses and will bring New Kensington and Fayette under the direction of Chancellor Megan Nagel at the Greater Allegheny campus in McKeesport. It is the latest in a series of moves to confront sharp declines...
Pittsburgh Public Schools name new chief of staff
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board on Tuesday announced that it has a new chief of staff. Superintendent Wayne N. Walters said Lamar D. Blackwell’s appointment became effective on May 23. Minutes from the May meeting indicate he will earn about $14,000 per month. “This appointment marks a significant step towards...
‘It was gaslighting’: Students upset over Pittsburgh Technical College closure
Bryce Bladen of Gettysburg didn’t mince words Tuesday about having moved across state to pursue a degree in graphic design at Pittsburgh Technical College — a degree he suddenly must finish elsewhere. “It was gaslighting,” the 20-year-old said of what turned out to be dubious reassurances. For months, college leaders...
Details of proposed Pa. higher education board tucked into legislation
A new state Board of Higher Education as proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro would consist of 15 voting members, one from each sector of postsecondary education, plus government, business, labor and student representatives. Details are contained in twin pieces of legislation introduced Monday by Sen. Jay Costa Jr. , D-Forest...
Pittsburgh Technical College to close
Pittsburgh Technical College will shut down at the end of the spring quarter, effective August, it announced Monday evening. The move comes days after its accrediting agency said the 80-year-old Oakdale-area college was in danger of imminent closure. In a statement Monday, the college cited declining enrollment, market pressures and...
Cyber charter changes that could save public schools $530M may be in this year’s budget
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 — Pennsylvania’s public school districts could save roughly $530 million annually if the legislature makes long-sought changes to how cyber charters are funded. Democratic...
Student teaching stipend aims to fill void for aspiring educators, but some say program needs more support
Almost nothing could deter Brianna Savko from teaching. Generally modest pay, an all-time high annual attrition rate of 7.7% and a statewide shortage of more than 2,000 teachers were not enough to change her mind. “There’s a passion there, and I don’t care what the money is behind it when...
Western Pa. education leaders seek solutions to statewide teacher shortage crisis
Thousands of teaching positions in Pennsylvania were vacant or filled by someone on an emergency certificate in the past year, leaving education across the state in crisis mode, one industry onlooker said. More than 2,000 teaching positions were vacant in Pennsylvania as of October, according to data released by the...
Pa. lawmakers introduce bills to advance Shapiro’s higher education overhaul
Two Democratic lawmakers, one in the House and one in the Senate, are introducing legislation to advance Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposals to reimagine Pennsylvania’s higher education system. The system has long been criticized as underfunded by the state and too expensive for students. The governor on Friday announced the introduction...
Pittsburgh Technical College in ‘imminent danger’ of closing, agency says
The accrediting agency for Pittsburgh Technical College says the 80-year-old school “is in danger of imminent closure” and ordered its leaders to “demonstrate by June 28 why its accreditation should not be withdrawn.” The Middle States Commission on Higher Education on Friday released a summary of board actions taken Thursday...
No tuition increase for CCAC students
Tuition and most fees will not increase for students attending Community College of Allegheny County during the upcoming academic year. The Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a budget of almost $115 million for 2024-25. It keeps tuition for Allegheny County residents at $126 per credit, or $1,890 per full-time...
Point Park University extends offer to students as Philadelphia college closes
The urgent calls and emails to Point Park University started within hours of the abrupt announcement that a venerable arts campus in Philadelphia would close within a week, leaving hundreds of students suddenly without fall college plans. University of the Arts, dating to the 1870s, had become the latest small...
Drums Not Guns helping students to heal through challenging experiences
Students at Westinghouse Academy and other local schools are benefiting from a fairly new initiative that aims to reduce violence through exposure to the arts. Linda “Imani” Barrett, a Hill District native, founded Legacy Arts Project in 2004. One of their programs is an initiative called Drums Not Guns. “The...
Gov. Shapiro, Pitt chancellor give vastly different takes on pro-Palestinian encampment than protest’s leaders
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office late Wednesday called it “unfortunate” that a 30-hour pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pittsburgh “devolved into documented violence, vandalism, and antisemitic rhetoric.” The statement from Shapiro press secretary Manuel Bonder came hours after Pitt Divest from Apartheid, the group that organized the encampment, offered a...
