Education category, Page 43
Activists call on Pittsburgh Public Schools to stop issuing citations against students, cut back on suspensions
A rally Monday outside the Pittsburgh Public Schools administration building in Oakland highlighted concerns about students being pushed out of schools because of summary citations and suspensions. Spearheaded by 412 Justice, an organization focused on economic, environmental and educational justice, the rally brought attention to what organizers described as school...
For some states with transgender bathrooms laws, enforcement is an issue
BISMARCK, N.D. — When North Dakota restricted what bathrooms transgender students can use in public schools and universities this year, the school district in the state’s largest city promised to ignore the new rules. A Republican legislator then called for confiscating its state funding, but the law doesn’t include that...
How to prepare to start paying back your student loans when the pandemic payment freeze ends
NEW YORK — A three-year pause on federal student loan payments will soon end regardless of how the Supreme Court rules this week on a White House plan to forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt. The conservative-leaning court seems poised to strike down President Biden’s plan, which would...
Pitt, Penn State branch campuses bleeding enrollment; decline expected to continue
Brianna Guinther studies nursing minutes from her Greensburg home at a University of Pittsburgh branch campus, a leafy suburban setting with plenty of quiet study spaces and a new Life Sciences Building. Having Pitt-Greensburg as an option spared her a more arduous commute as she pursues a four-year degree. She...
Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children provides residential care for studentsVideo
Editor’s note: Students’ last names have been omitted at the request of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. Chloe makes her way down the long hallway. She holds onto her white probing cane, moving it from side to side. As she takes a few steps up a slight grade,...
Walk or run, this busy spot on Pitt campus has a new name
So, will it be Gallagher Walk or Gallagher Run? University of Pittsburgh trustees Friday renamed a spot in the heart of campus for departing Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, saying it reflected a transformational project during his nine-year tenure, and something else about him. The plaza and walkway that were chosen wrap...
West Virginia University approves $7M in staff cuts, 3% tuition increase
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With more cuts expected, West Virginia University’s governing board moved forward Friday with slashing 12 graduate and doctorate programs amid a $45 million budget shortfall and approved a just under 3 percent tuition increase. The estimated $1.2 billion fiscal year 2024 budget approved by the institution’s Board...
Pennsylvania House lawmakers pass bill to recruit more educators by offering $10K stipends
HARRISBURG — Faced with a rising number of Pennsylvania teachers leaving the profession, state House lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill to recruit more educators by giving student teachers a stipend while they’re in the classroom. The legislation seeks to remove the barriers for prospective teachers, whose work in the...
Carnegie Mellon president, chair of Pa. university system named to Homeland Security panel
Carnegie Mellon University’s president and the Fox Chapel-based board chair of Pennsylvania’s state-owned university system have been added to an advisory council to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Farnam Jahanian from CMU and Cynthia Shapira from the State System Higher Education’s board of governors are among 20 additions announced...
Pittsburgh Public Schools to expand anti-violence, mentorship program with $2M grant
A program aimed at reducing youth violence in Pittsburgh Public Schools will use more than $2 million in state grant money to expand. The Safe Passages program, operated by Pittsburgh-based Operation Better Block, brings adult community leaders into schools to mentor students, help curb problematic behaviors and mediate potential conflicts,...
Pitt students frustrated after being told following commencement they were short of degree requirements
College students trying to understand what precise combination of courses they need to graduate generally take it on faith that if they follow a campus adviser’s instructions, they will get their degree. But what if the adviser gets it wrong? What if they needed more courses than they were told...
Hempfield Area School Board may vote on book-challenge, acquisition policies at next meeting
After nearly 18 months of meetings, debates and changes, Hempfield Area School Board members sent two controversial policies back to their policy committee for additional tweaks. The policies are centered around the purchase of resource materials, with a particular focus on books available in the district’s libraries, and the procedure...
Pitt committee approves $120M in construction for biomanufacturing facility in Hazelwood
A University of Pittsburgh trustees’ committee voted Monday to approve the $120 million construction of the core and shell of a planned cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility in Hazelwood. In a separate vote, the trustees’ Property and Facilities Committee authorized leasing space within the facility. Officials hope it will...
Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf residence program prepares students for what’s aheadVideo
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on residency at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. Interviews were done with the help of an interpreter. Many students’ last names have been omitted at the request of the Western...
Backlash prompts Bishop Zubik to cancel Mass planned in solidarity with LGBTQ+ community
A Sunday Mass at Duquesne University’s chapel that had been planned in solidarity with LGBTQ+ Catholics was canceled at the request of Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik because of an angry backlash including threats, officials confirmed Friday. The Mass on the Catholic campus was arranged by Catholics for Change in...
Taylor Swift expert? This Carnegie Mellon class tests your knowledge
Taylor Swift isn’t just a music and pop culture icon. She’s also the subject of an elective three-credit course at Carnegie Mellon University. “Taylor Swift Through the Eras” was a spring semester offering through CMU’s Student College (StuCo), which allows students to develop and teach academic courses on topics of...
Hempfield high school project cost rises to $132 million
“Hyperinflation” has driven the Hempfield Area High School revitalization project to an estimated cost of $132 million, according to new details shared by school officials and engineers at a town hall meeting. Originally estimated in January 2022 to cost between $97.4 million to $109.9 million, the project aims to keep...
Colleges and universities moving away from standardized tests in admissions decisions
More than eight out of every 10 colleges and universities that award bachelor’s degrees no longer require or do not consider standardized tests in admissions decisions, according to a national survey released Wednesday. The latest tally from FairTest, an Arlington, Mass., group that has long been critical of the SAT...
Head of Carnegie Mellon’s music school leaving for job at Northwestern
Jonathan Bailey Holland, the head of Carnegie Mellon University’s school of music for less than a year, is leaving to accept the music deanship at Northwestern University. He begins his new job Sept. 1. Holland’s appointment to the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music was announced on Northwestern’s website....
Conservative group says Pitt violated free speech rights of organizers of transgender debate
A conservative group representing organizers of an April transgender rights debate at the University of Pittsburgh claims that Pitt violated the organizers’ free speech rights by charging an $18,734 security fee to quell raucous student protests outside. The Alliance Defending Freedom made the accusation in a letter to the university...
As conservatives target schools, LGBTQ+ kids and students of color feel less safe
NOLENSVILLE, Tenn.— The first encounter with racism that Harmony Kennedy can remember came in elementary school. On a playground, a girl picked up a leaf and said she wanted to “clean the dirt” from Harmony’s skin. In sixth grade, a boy dropped trash on the floor and told her to...
La Roche’s Center for Lifelong Learning to be named for late President Sister Candace Introcaso
La Roche University will name its Center for Lifelong Learning after its late president, Sister Candace Introcaso, who died last month. The center, established in 2021, offers a variety of classes, workshops and community programs for adults 50 and older, youth and professionals at various stages of their careers. A...
USW petitions state labor board to unionize Pitt staffers
Monday’s petition by the United Steelworkers for a state-supervised election to unionize thousands of University of Pittsburgh staff is rooted in years of preparation, said Jesse Dubin, a program evaluator in Pitt’s school of pharmacy. Though the path to a vote could be complex and prolonged staff will benefit from...
Oklahoma school board approves what would be the 1st taxpayer-funded religious school in U.S.
OKLAHOMA CITY — A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application...
Pitt, Slovakian government officials look to expand academic collaboration
Not every college classroom rates a visit from a European country’s ambassador and his entourage. Then again, not many settings for teaching Slovak culture and language quite compare to the University of Pittsburgh’s Czechoslovak Room, one of 31 renowned Nationality Rooms on a campus that is home to the only...
