Education category, Page 41
Hempfield scholastic community kicks off a new start at Harrold School
Hallways bustled Thursday as Hempfield Area School District’s ninth grade class members took their first steps through the doors of the former Harrold Middle School and into a new paradigm for the district. When they return next Thursday for the first day of class at what’s now being called Harrold...
Arkansas school district says it will continue offering AP African American Studies course
LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock School District said Wednesday it will continue offering an Advanced Placement course on African American studies despite Arkansas education officials saying the class won’t count toward a student’s graduation credit. The 21,200-student district announced the decision days after the Arkansas Department of Education said...
They’re back: College students arrive on Western Pa. campuses
Overstuffed move-in carts, frazzled parents and traffic lined up outside dorms are making a comeback this week and next as Western Pennsylvania college students arrive for fall semester classes. Campuses, meanwhile, are trying to curb stress among the new arrivals. Some initiatives to soothe the psyche are as involved as...
University of Pittsburgh trustees chair abruptly resigns
Douglas Browning has resigned as chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees due to “an unanticipated personal matter,” officials confirmed on Tuesday. He notified the university Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, his bio had been removed from the university website. The site now lists Louis R. Cestello, vice...
Going to college? Here’s what you should know about student loans
NEW YORK — If you’re heading to college or starting to think about where you’d like to apply, you’re probably considering options for funding your education. If you need to borrow money to pursue your dreams, you are far from alone. According to the Federal Reserve, 30% of all U.S....
Hempfield school library book policies approved at heated meeting
New rules will govern books and other library materials at Hempfield Area School District, after the school board voted Monday to enact two policies defining what content is permitted on the district’s bookshelves. About 80 people attended the board meeting and more than a dozen residents spoke their opinions on...
Carnegie Mellon cyber hacking team wins record 7th title in annual competition
LAS VEGAS — Carnegie Mellon University’s cyber hacking team, the Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP), defended its title in DEF CON’s Capture-the-Flag competition — its seventh victory in the past 11 years. The team joined forces with the University of British Columbia’s Maple Bacon team and hackers from CMU Alum...
Many Western Pa. colleges still looking to enroll students for fall in late push
Acceptance letter in hand, Dana Sinatra appeared to be destined to enroll at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, and play basketball there. But Sinatra, 19, a forward on her high school basketball team, began to have doubts several months ago about the 1½-hour travel distance from her McDonald home....
WVU facing possible academic program cuts, 7% faculty reduction
West Virginia University has unveiled preliminary recommendations to discontinue 32 of its 338 majors and reduce faculty ranks in Morgantown by 7% to confront enrollment losses and adapt to shifting student demand. Twelve of the majors are undergraduate level and 20 are at the graduate level, officials with the state’s...
Florida education commissioner skips forum on criticized Black history standards
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Hundreds of lawmakers, teachers, school board members and parents crowded into a South Florida church Thursday evening for a forum on Florida’s new standards for teaching Black history, which have drawn harsh criticism for requiring teachers to instruct middle-school students that enslaved people “developed skills which,...
Paper exams, chatbot bans: Colleges seek to ‘ChatGPT-proof’ assignments
When philosophy professor Darren Hick came across another case of cheating in his classroom at Furman University last semester, he posted an update to his followers on social media: “Aaaaand, I’ve caught my second ChatGPT plagiarist.” Friends and colleagues responded, some with wide-eyed emojis. Others expressed surprise. “Only 2?! I’ve...
Hempfield high school project plan is millions of dollars over budget, must be revised
Contract bids for the first phase of the Hempfield Area Senior High School renovation project are millions of dollars over budget, and the project must be revised before construction can begin. That’s what architects from SitelogIQ told the Hempfield Area School Board at a public meeting Wednesday afternoon. The architects...
Penn State gender pay gap is among worst compared to public Big Ten schools, federal data show
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 — Penn State is facing at least one allegation of wage discrimination, while salary data show the university’s gender pay gap is among...
Hempfield Area to review 1st round of high school renovation bids this week
Hempfield Area School Board members will discuss bids for the first phase of a $132 million high school revitalization project at a public meeting Wednesday. The special session will be at 3 p.m. in the administration board room at 4347 Route 136. In addition to identifying the lowest bidder, the...
River Valley administrators visit White House as part of 2 national programs
The U.S. Department of Education invited River Valley School District to the White House twice this summer. In July, the district was recognized as part of the Rural Community of Practice as an exemplary school district that reimagines how the nation’s high schools prepare students to thrive in the workforce....
Free speech group says Penn State’s funding cut to student newspaper suggests lack of support for free expression
A group that advocates for speech and press freedoms is criticizing Penn State University’s decision to eliminate funding for its student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, saying the cut suggests the university does not truly support free expression. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression registered its concerns in a letter...
Penn State works to trim deficits that have placed it in ‘vulnerable state,’ president says
A plan to phase out funding for The Daily Collegian over the next two years is part of a broader financial belt-tightening to address deficit spending at Penn State and its branch campuses. “As an institution, we have been spending more money each year than we bring in, which has...
When is the 1st day of school 2023? Here’s the schedule for Western Pa.
The beginning of the school year around Western Pennsylvania starts in less than three weeks. Among public school districts in six counties, the earliest start date is Aug. 21, with three districts — Allegheny Valley, McKeesport Area and North Allegheny — opening their doors on the Monday that week. Only...
More teachers are quitting their jobs. Educators of color often are more likely to leave
HARRISBURG — Rhonda Hicks could have kept working into her 60s. She loved teaching and loved her students in Philadelphia’s public schools. As a Black woman, she took pride in being a role model for many children of color. But other aspects of the job deteriorated, such as growing demands...
Hempfield Area parents, board members debate book policies ahead of upcoming vote
Occasional cheering and applause rose on Monday as Hempfield Area School District residents and parents reviewed book challenges and bans. A policy governing the process awaits a final vote by the school board in two weeks. During Monday’s school board meeting, several residents talked about the proposed policies, and some...
West Virginia board revokes private university’s ability to award degrees amid staggering debt
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The board overseeing West Virginia’s four-year colleges and universities voted Monday to revoke a small Baptist university’s ability to award degrees, in response to its staggering debts. Alderson Broaddus University will be prohibited from awarding degrees starting Dec. 31, the state Higher Education Policy Commission announced during...
Biden administration rolls out new income-driven student loan repayment program
Students hoping to reduce or even eliminate their remaining student debt can now enroll online in the Biden administration’s new income-driven student loan repayment plan called Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE. It may take some patience, though, because the website application containing the SAVE enrollment option — active...
High school history retold through Hempfield Project archive
A Spartan pennant from the 1960s, rescued from between the pages of a yearbook. A school handbook from 1962. A seat cushion from the 1970s. A mug from the Cotton Bowl, where the district’s band performed in 1971, and a football program from the 1980s. Hempfield Area teacher and English...
Penn State eliminates funding for well-respected, student-run newspaper The Daily Collegian
Terry Mutchler, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and former Daily Collegian writer, likened Penn State University’s elimination of funding for its storied student newspaper to “ditching the Creamery,” another mainstay on the University Park campus. “Am I aware of it? I had to double my blood pressure medication,” quipped Mutchler, a...
Pitt to raise in-state tuition for undergrads on its main campus by 2%
The University of Pittsburgh is increasing its base tuition for in-state undergraduate students on its main campus by 2% this fall, but will freeze tuition on its branch campuses in Hempfield, Johnstown, Bradford and Titusville. Out-of-state undergraduates will see increases of 7% on the main campus, while graduate students from...
