Education category, Page 36
Tensions on college campuses over Israel-Hamas War prompt federal investigations
University of Pittsburgh senior Eitan Weinkle lost an acquaintance in the Hamas attack at a festival in Israel on Oct. 7 and knows someone else who was taken hostage. He shoulders that grief and a fear shared by his Jewish peers at Pitt as antisemitic threats on college campuses rise....
Biden’s plan would raise salaries for Head Start teachers but could leave fewer spots for kids
WASHINGTON — A new plan from the Biden administration could significantly increase salaries for thousands of low-paid early childhood teachers caring for the country’s poorest children but might force some centers to reduce their enrollment. The Health and Human Services agency’s proposed federal rule would require Head Start programs, which...
Shaler Area School Board looks for solution to declining enrollment
Several parents attended the Shaler Area School Board meeting on Nov. 15 to address the board about the possible closure of Reserve Primary School. The conversation comes after the district received the results of a feasibility study that emphasized work that needs to be done in the district. The study...
IUP names dean for proposed college of osteopathic medicine
Indiana University of Pennsylvania leaders have hired a dean for their proposed college of osteopathic medicine and say the move is an important step toward establishing the state’s first such school on a public campus. Dr. Miko Rose, 50, comes from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Pacific Northwest University...
Mother of Sorrows principal will take administrative reins at Greensburg Central Catholic
Theresa Szmed is going to have to get used to seeing older students in the hallways of her workplace. Szmed, who has served as principal at Mother of Sorrows School in Murrysville since 2016, will become the new principal at Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School starting in January, diocese...
‘I beg you to ask for help’: Penn Middle School speaker talks bullying, mental health support
Standing on the Penn Middle School auditorium stage, John Halligan looked out at more than 500 students, many of whom reflected the same youthful innocence as his 13-year-old son, Ryan, who died by suicide in 2003. Just as Halligan has done for the past 18 years — for about 1...
Hempfield Area mulls changes to program that allows some seniors flexible schedules
Future Hempfield Area High School seniors may see restrictions on an existing flexible schedule arrangement, which allows them to come in late or leave early if they have enough credits to meet graduation requirements. School board members are considering changes to the program, dubbed early release/late entry, that would be...
Carnegie Mellon unveils plans for new science hall in Oakland
Carnegie Mellon University plans to open a new $252 million project in Oakland by 2027 and unveiled design plans for the new academic building on Monday. The 338,900-square-foot building will host researchers and students from the university’s Mellon College of Science and School of Computer Science, officials said. A seven-story...
International student enrollment rebounds to nearly pre-pandemic levels, report says
International enrollment at colleges nationwide has rebounded to almost pre-pandemic levels, with last year’s 12% enrollment jump representing the biggest annual increase in four-plus decades, a new report shows. The report released Monday by the New York-based nonprofit Institute of International Education puts the U.S. head count at about 1.06...
2 new Republicans, 3 incumbents to fill Hempfield school board seats
Two new Republicans will join the Hempfield Area School Board after a year filled with debate of national hot button issues and a pause on a planned $132 million high school renovation project. Tracy Miller, 46, who works for a local tax collector, and Jennifer Stape, 38, a stay-at-home mom,...
Hempfield Area security committee ‘ironing out details’ before renting metal detectors
Hempfield Area School District is considering additional metal or weapons detectors for its buildings, but options to safeguard its schools could depend on staffing levels and training, members of the new security committee said. At the committee’s meeting this week, board member Mike Alfery said the group is considering renting...
Bipartisan Norwin School Board victors say they hope to promote respect, avoid polarization
Members of the bipartisan “We aRe Norwin” slate of candidates will form a majority on Norwin School Board, according to unofficial election results. All five members of the slate were leading in unofficial vote tallies from Tuesday’s election. Tim Kotch Sr. led with 11.2%, and Nina Totin came in second...
Pittsburgh school board VP handily reelected along with 3 new members
A Pittsburgh Public Schools board first-vice president cruised to a second term Tuesday, while three newcomers secured board spots following uncontested races. Democrat Devon Taliaferro, who was first elected in 2019, will sit on the board in 2024 alongside newly elected Democrats Emma Yourd and Dwayne Barker. Board member-elect Yael...
‘Mom, there’s a fire!’: Point Park student makes frantic call when scooter catches fire in off-campus apartment
There are phone calls home to mom that college students never want to make. And then there’s the one placed early Saturday by Point Park University sophomore Aidan McFarlane, 19, barefoot, barely awake and frantic, as he realized his battery-powered electric scooter was ablaze in his studio apartment. Billowing smoke...
Carnegie Mellon receives $25M gift for computational biology from trustee and wife
Carnegie Mellon University has received a $25 million gift from longtime Trustee Ray Lane and his wife, Stephanie, to support the institution’s Computational Biology Department. Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian announced the gift in a note to campus Monday afternoon. He called it a “monumental investment” in an expanding area...
Hempfield teacher with viral TikTok video appears on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’
A Hempfield Area teacher’s viral creativity has catapulted her to a moment in the TV spotlight. Taylor Crossland, an elementary school teacher at Fort Allen Elementary, wanted to throw a special incentive event for her students to reward them for staying on-task through the end of September. With donated Starbucks...
Penn State student calls for federal probe after students denied access to campus crime data
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. STATE COLLEGE — Nick Rizzio wanted to know why Penn State was sending fewer crime alerts. He had anecdotes. He had emails. He had theories....
School board meetings attract crowds as races become next political frontier
From book bans to gender-neutral bathrooms, culture wars have found a battlefield in Western Pennsylvania schools. National politics increasingly are influencing school boards, as party lines are splitting members over hot button issues such as sex education, trans rights and the appropriateness of classroom materials. School boards’ once-marginally attended monthly...
Central Catholic High School names president
Matthew J. Stoessel recalled taking the Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s light rail system into Downtown Pittsburgh from his Upper St. Clair home. He then transferred to the 71B on his way to Central Catholic High School in Oakland. He had been making that trip as the school’s executive director of advancement...
McKeesport teachers union votes down proposed contract, strike still possible
The McKeesport Area Education Association has voted down a tentative one-year contract, according to Tribune-Review news partner WTAE. The one-year deal had been worked out between the McKeesport Area School Board of Directors and the Association. However, in a vote Thursday night, union members rejected the deal by a vote...
Applications open for Trib Total Media Scholarship Program
Applications are being accepted for the Trib Total Media Scholarship Program, which includes three, inclusive scholarships ranging from writing and reporting to business and marketing. The Trib’s Jim Borden Memorial Scholarship began in 2019 in honor of Tribune- Review managing editor Jim Borden. It’s open to students attending or planning...
State House approves funding for Pitt, Penn State, 2 others — but with a stipulation the universities are balking at
The state House passed legislation Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans quickly hailed as progress toward ending a monthslong stalemate over this year’s appropriations to the University of Pittsburgh and other state-related institutions. But at least one potential glitch has developed — a big one. The House, where Democrats hold a...
Hempfield Area board to vote on temporary superintendent
Hempfield Area School Board members are expected to vote Wednesday to name a temporary superintendent for the district. An agenda posted Tuesday for a special board meeting on Wednesday indicated the board may name the district’s current assistant superintendent for elementary education, Kimberlie Rieffannacht, to the position. Bob Reger, the...
Political divide in Norwin separates factions vying for control of school board
Ten candidates — five each on the Republican and Democratic ballots — have formed competing factions in the race for five seats on the Norwin School Board. The board has been divided into two factions for 22 months and voters likely will determine Nov. 7 which slate of candidates will...
Point Park University wants to increase enrollment by 30%, house older adults
Point Park University wants to attract artists, single parents and retirees to live on its campus as part of an effort to reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh and add 30% to the school’s enrollment by decade’s end. On Monday, leaders of the Downtown university with 3,300 students unveiled a strategic plan outlining...
