Education category, Page 44
Duquesne grad student studies intersection of ‘craft, church and a life of faith’ in Appalachia
When Gwendolen Jackson was growing up in Bridgeport, Ohio, across the river from Wheeling, W.Va., along the northwestern edge of Appalachia, it seemed like everyone she knew did some sort of crafting. She also grew up in a churchgoing family, and that seemed to go hand in hand with crafting....
CCAC tuition to go up 3.3% next school year
Tuition for full-time students attending the Community College of Allegheny County is going up 3.3% for the 2023-24 school year. Tuition for students from Allegheny County will go from $1,830 to $1,890 per semester. Students from other Pennsylvania counties will pay $3,780 per semester in tuition, up from $3,660. Out-of-state...
United Steelworkers seeking vote to unionize thousands of Pitt staff
The United Steelworkers said it intends to file paperwork Monday calling for a state-supervised labor election that could unionize more than 5,000 workers at the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus and four branches. The USW already represents about 3,000 full- and part-time faculty on Pitt’s main campus in Oakland and...
Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto
WASHINGTON — A Republican measure overturning President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation plan passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits an expected veto. The vote was 52-46, with support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana as well as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema,...
U.S. companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs
Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The company’s $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots...
40 Pittsburgh schools to shift to remote learning Thursday due to heat
Pittsburgh Public Schools plans to temporarily close 40 district schools in favor of remote learning Thursday because of anticipated high temperatures. For a list of the affected schools, which officials said do not have sufficient air-conditioning, click here: www.pghschools.org/Page/6250. Students from those schools will receive virtual instruction on Thursday and...
Teachers leaving their jobs at an accelerating rate in Pennsylvania, new study finds
HARRISBURG — Teachers are leaving their jobs at an accelerating rate in Pennsylvania, amid fears of a nationwide exodus of burned-out teachers and a collapse in enrollment in recruitment programs that is making teachers increasingly difficult to replace. A new analysis by Penn State’s Center for Education Evaluation and Policy...
Pa. plans to train teachers to be ‘culturally relevant.’ A conservative legal group is suing over the guidelines
Aspiring Pennsylvania teachers are due to soon be trained in “culturally relevant” education, under a new state standard requiring teacher preparation programs to incorporate instruction in the subject. The standard, which was adopted last year and also applies to professional development programs, comes as education officials have voiced concern about...
Franklin Regional seniors headed to national Future Business Leaders of America competition finals
Franklin Regional students Augusto Butkewitsch and Jacob Toniolo can add three more words to their word-based video game — “Pennsylvania,” “state” and “champions.” The seniors from Murrysville came out on top in the computer games and simulation programs category at the statewide high school competition organized by the Future Business...
Hempfield Area high school project heads into bidding phase this summer
The $128 million revitalization project at Hempfield Area High School will take another step forward this summer when the district accepts construction bids and awards contracts. In an update sent to parents this week, district officials noted the project’s phased construction is set to begin in August and end in...
U.S. surgeon general calls for action on social media to ‘protect kids now’
The U.S. surgeon general is warning there is not enough evidence to show that social media is safe for children and teens — and is calling on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now.” With young people’s social media use “near universal” but its...
Federal rule could remove chocolate milk option in some Pa. schools
Young students could soon be without chocolate- and strawberry-flavored milks as an option at school cafeterias, if a federal proposal is approved, and some Pennsylvania officials are cautioning against the potential change. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently proposed banning flavored milk as a cafeteria option for elementary and middle...
Funeral arrangements announced for La Roche University President Sister Candace Introcaso
Funeral arrangements for La Roche University President Sister Candace Introcaso have been announced. A viewing for Introcaso, who died Monday, will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Visitation Chapel in The Commons at Providence Heights in McCandless. A Mass will be...
8 tips for parents and teens on social media use
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, is calling for “immediate action” by tech companies and lawmakers to protect kids’ and adolescents’ mental health on social media. But after years of middling and insufficient action by both social media platforms and policymakers, parents and young people still bear most of...
Car seats and baby formula are regulated. Is social media next?
The U.S. surgeon general is warning there is not enough evidence to show that social media is safe for children and teens — and is calling on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now.” With young people’s social media use “near universal” but its...
Tax increase included in draft Hempfield Area budget
A 2.3 mill real estate tax increase that’s included in a proposed 2023-24 budget will be used to cover expenses associated with rising health insurance rates, updated curriculum, and hiring school police officers in Hempfield Area School District. The proposed spending plan was adopted Monday by Hempfield’s school board. The...
Using ‘he/him,’ ‘she/her’ in emails got 2 dorm directors fired at N.Y. Christian college
NEW YORK — Shua Wilmot and Raegan Zelaya, two former dorm directors at a small Christian university in western New York, acknowledge their names are unconventional, which explains why they attached gender identities to their work email signatures. Wilmot uses “he/him.” Zelaya goes by “she/her.” Their former employer, Houghton University,...
Show me the money: Teachers, education experts advocate for financial literacy
Ligonier Valley financial literacy teacher Martin Hickey often hears from students about how his classes have impacted their lives, but one response from a former pupil sticks with him. “One of the kids I had in my class, I happened to see him in the street … and he goes,...
Franklin Regional recognized as model for education excellence by national association
The Franklin Regional School District was among six in the U.S. to be chosen by the School Superintendents Association as a model of positive change in public education. The association recognized Franklin Regional as a 2023 spring “Lighthouse System,” adding it to the 120-member Learning 2025 Network, a group of...
Ligonier Valley dance canceled, citing bad student behavior
A middle school dance scheduled for Friday night was abruptly canceled at Ligonier Valley Middle School because of student “disrespect and misconduct,” according to a letter sent to parents. The letter, signed by middle school Principal Paulina Burns, said that students’ behavior at recent events “has fallen short of our...
Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship hosts ‘Shark Tank’ inspired competition
Destiny Folks walked toward the judges and introduced herself and the company she founded, Rising Artists. Folks told them why she started the business. Her presentation was smooth and efficient — she talked about her vision like a veteran owner. But she hasn’t been doing it that long. Folks is...
5 IUP executives fired in move to cut costs, streamline operations
Five executives at Indiana University of Pennsylvania have lost their jobs in a move the university says is designed to cut costs and streamline operations. “IUP, like colleges and universities across the nation, is facing dramatic challenges both internally and externally (and) must accelerate its progress toward student-centeredness and financial...
The pandemic widened gaps in reading. Can 1 teacher ‘do something about that’?
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Richard Evans makes his way through rows of his students in his third grade classroom, stooping to pick up an errant pencil and answering questions above the din of chairs sliding on hardwood floors. The desks, once spread apart to fight covid-19, are back together. But...
Shapiro talks mental health, budget plans with Hempfield Area High School students
Hempfield Area High School students talked about school start times, stress, mental health, class workload and free breakfast during a Wednesday visit from Gov. Josh Shapiro. The governor listened to the students’ suggestions on ways to improve their education experience during a roundtable discussion in the high school library. Shapiro...
A Florida man living underwater won’t resurface even after breaking the recordVideo
KEY LARGO, Fla. — A university professor broke a record for the longest time living underwater without depressurization this weekend at a Florida Keys lodge for scuba divers. Joseph Dituri’s 74th day residing in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, situated at the bottom of a 30-foot-deep lagoon in Key Largo, wasn’t much...
