Education category, Page 34
Greensburg Salem seeks committee to navigate potential construction upgrades
A refresh of building interiors, plumbing and HVAC repairs, landscaping and ADA compliance are only a few out of the many items on Greensburg Salem School District’s laundry list of potential construction projects. The list, divided up by school building and urgency, was presented to the public at a facilities...
How do superintendents make the call to cancel school in bad weather?
When the weather gets bad, Mike Porembka hops in his truck and hits the road at 4 a.m. The Greater Latrobe School District superintendent drives around the district — from downtown Latrobe to Unity — gathering information and assessing road conditions and temperatures. Ultimately, he must decide whether to cancel...
Greater Latrobe board to tour schools after pausing pricey plan to revitalize facilities
Greater Latrobe School Board members who last month halted plans for at least $182 million in proposed construction and renovations are scheduled to tour the district’s five schools Saturday to look at building needs. “I feel some of the board members just need to have the opportunity to walk through...
Atlanta’s Spelman College just got the largest-ever single donation to an HBCU
ATLANTA — A billionaire couple is giving $100 million to Atlanta’s Spelman College, which the women’s school says is the largest-ever single donation to a historically Black college or university. The donation was announced Thursday by Ronda Stryker and her husband William Johnston. She is the billionaire granddaughter of the...
Faculty union, Pa. university system reach potential labor deal
The union representing 5,000 state university faculty across Pennsylvania has reached “an agreement in principle” with leaders of the State System of Higher Education, both parties confirmed Thursday. The agreement followed a full day and night of negotiating. It comes almost seven months after the existing agreement between the Association...
3 Pittsburgh Public Schools on modified lockdown through Friday due to online threats
Pittsburgh Public Schools district officials said three schools that share a campus will be under modified lockdown through Friday after threats were made over social media. Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesperson Ebony Pugh said the lockdown affects West Liberty PreK-5, South Brook 6-8, and Pittsburgh Pioneer Education Center. Those schools are...
‘This will be a game-changer’: Duquesne University opens medical college
Students in the inaugural class of Duquesne University’s medical college will learn the intricacies of human anatomy through the time-tested method of dissecting cadavers. But they also will slip on a high-tech headset with eyewear and instantly see before them a hologram of the human body. They can walk around...
Pitt Ohio to donate semi-trailer to Forbes Road school in Monroeville
Students in Forbes Road Career & Technology School’s diesel technology program get plenty of experience working on the massive trucks that haul goods back and forth across the country. The difficulty is those trucks are often from the mid-1990s. “There’s none of the modern controls or emissions technology, and there’s...
Pa. needs to spend $5.4B to close gap between rich and poor schools, report advanced by Dems says
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 will need to spend at least $5.4 billion to close the gap between rich and poor school districts, according to a long-awaited...
North Side woman advocates for more education and access to menstrual products
Tamara Abney recalled going into the restroom and realizing her period started. She searched her purse multiple times — nothing. She looked through bags she was carrying and pants and jacket pockets — still nothing. “If you don’t have a tampon or a pad (when your period starts), it can...
Pa.’s poorest school districts were slated for a funding boost, but aid went to construction instead
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. BELLEFONTE — Pennsylvania’s poorest districts won’t receive $100 million in new money to help fill vacancies and reduce funding deficits after lawmakers diverted those dollars...
Ellis School celebrates activism, advocacy with 20th annual Culture Jam Conference
The excitement was palpable at the Ellis School, an all-girls private school in Shadyside, as students led the 20th annual Cultural Jam. The Student Diversity League and Culture Jam Committee planned and organized the conference, which brought out 122 students from The Ellis School’s Upper School. They were joined by...
As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers
Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views. It’s girded by a belief that the good ideas rise above the bad, that no one should be punished for voicing an idea — except in rare cases where...
Some Americans will get their student loans canceled in February as Biden accelerates his new plan
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will start canceling student loans for some borrowers starting in February as part of a new repayment plan that’s taking effect nearly six months ahead of schedule. Loan cancellation was originally set to begin in July under the new SAVE repayment plan, but it’s being...
Democrats’ education funding report says Pennsylvania owes $5B more to school districts
HARRISBURG — A commission reviewing how Pennsylvania distributes money to public schools narrowly approved a report Thursday that suggests the state is underfunding districts by more than $5 billion and should begin immediately to close that gap. The vote on the report by the Basic Education Funding Commission was backed...
$100 million gift from Lilly Endowment to United Negro College Fund will support HBCU endowments
The United Negro College Fund announced a donation of $100 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the single largest unrestricted gift to the organization since its founding 80 years ago. The gift announced Thursday will go toward a pooled endowment for the 37 historically Black colleges and universities that form...
Efforts to restrict transgender health care endure in 2024, with more adults targeted
Republican-led state legislatures are considering a new round of bills restricting medical care for transgender youths — and in some cases, adults — returning to the issue the year after a wave of high-profile bills became law and sparked lawsuits. As legislatures begin their work for the year, lawmakers in...
Hempfield Area looks to other districts to research security upgrades
Hempfield Area School District’s security committee is still its weighing options to upgrade procedures and equipment. District leaders visited three Pennsylvania schools over the past several weeks to learn what security protocols and equipment work best to keep weapons off campus, interim Superintendent Kimberlie Rieffannacht said at a meeting of...
Hempfield interim superintendent to remain in role for 3 more months
Hempfield Area Superintendent Tammy Wolicki will remain on a leave for another three months for unspecified reasons, school board members said Monday. The board approved interim superintendent Kimberlie Rieffannacht to remain in her role while Wolicki is off. Rieffannacht is the assistant superintendent for elementary education in the district. Her...
Pitt names Ken Gabriel as BioForge CEO
The University of Pittsburgh‘s expansive BioForge initiative has hired its inaugural chief executive officer. Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel was appointed to the job, Anantha Shekhar, Pitt senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and medical school dean, announced Monday. Gabriel who already has begun his duties also will serve as...
Pittsburgh Technical College leaders mull possible sale, merger as enrollment falls
Leaders of a nearly 80-year-old technical college in Oakdale are weighing options that include selling or merging the institution amid falling enrollment and financial strains. The issues facing Pittsburgh Technical College resemble those confronting higher education generally. But they have been complicated by recent infighting over leadership, accusations of misconduct...
Poor schools prepared to return to court if Pennsylvania budget falls short on funding plan
HARRISBURG — The poor schools that won a landmark school funding court case in Pennsylvania last year are prepared to go back to court if the Legislature and governor don’t adequately address shortfalls as key junctures approach, the schools’ lawyers said Thursday. Public schools in Pennsylvania are currently underfunded by...
What to know about changes to this year’s FAFSA application for college students
NEW YORK — A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply. That means the Free...
Harvard president Claudine Gay resigns amid plagiarism claims, backlash from antisemitism testimonyVideo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy. Gay is the second Ivy League president...
Slippery Rock University’s marching band set to perform in London’s New Year’s Day Parade
The tubas – five in all – went first. They and other large brass and percussion instruments, plus enough band gear to fill a 26-foot box truck, had to be packed up and shipped overseas weeks before members of the Slippery Rock University Marching Pride band boarded flights for London....
