Education category, Page 5
Penn State approves new deal to keep WPSU public media open
A month after voting down an earlier proposal, Penn State University’s board of trustees approved a plan to transfer WPSU-TV and public radio to WHYY in Philadelphia. The deal means Penn State won’t have to pay an additional $17 million subsidy over the next five years to keep WPSU operating,...
Education Department layoffs threaten special ed system, advocates warn
WASHINGTON — Families and educators across the country were plunged into a state of uncertainty over the weekend after the federal Education Department laid off practically every staffer in the government’s special education division. Nearly the entire Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, including the Office of Special Education...
Thousands of Pa. college students wait for key financial aid due to state budget impasse
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Financial aid for thousands of Pennsylvania college students is on hold as a result of the state...
Education Department lays off roughly 20% of its workforce amid shutdown
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education on Friday laid off over 460 employees, dramatically reducing the workforce of a beleaguered agency that is already struggling to serve students on the heels of massive cuts. The number was made public in a court filing the same day from the Justice...
MIT refuses to accept White House terms for funding; other schools still mulling
Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth on Friday said she “cannot support” a memo the White House sent to nine elite U.S. universities last week detailing policies they should follow to get preferential consideration for federal funding. In an open letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Kornbluth said...
Greensburg Salem hires energy savings company to draft middle, high school improvement plans
As Greensburg Salem prepares to make its final debt service payment in January, the district is working with an energy savings company to create long-term improvement plans for its middle and high school buildings. The school board voted unanimously to hire TEN, The Efficiency Network, to complete conceptual design plans...
CMU cuts 75 employees in its Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday cut 75 staff positions at its Software Engineering Institute. The cut represents 10% of the institute’s overall workforce, according to Cassia Crogan, CMU spokeswoman. Crogan told TribLive the cuts were a “variety of roles and titles across the institute.” She didn’t say how it would...
Retention, community college transfers highlight Pa. state system’s enrollment increase
Fall enrollment at the 10 universities that make up the state system of higher education increased for the first time in more than a decade, with the biggest gains coming from retention and community college transfers, according to data released Tuesday. Enrollment in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education...
Trump’s funding offer to colleges sparks debate in Pennsylvania
Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, fears for his academic freedom. His concerns are shared by many colleagues as the Trump administration tries to broker deals with universities for new educational goals. “The big picture is that the administration has calculated that attacking universities, especially elite universities,...
Bethel Park School District program promotes reading relatability
Many may remember receiving school reading assignments and not particularly enjoying them or being able to process the necessary content in time for the exam a few days later. Thanks to a program called Core Knowledge Language Arts, Bethel Park School District students have an opportunity to become more invested...
Shady Side Academy senior advocates for nationwide youth financial literacy
Laurence Park grew up in Los Angeles and never thought he’d end up living in Pittsburgh. But when his father was hired as a financial professor at The University of Pittsburgh in 2022, Park traded West Coast living for the hills of Western Pennsylvania. “It’s very different but there’s a...
Free speech advocates: Book censorship in schools rampant
A free speech advocacy group warned book censorship in public schools across the United States has become “rampant and common,” with book bans increasing significantly over the past few years. Though book censorship is not a new issue, the United States has seen a sharp rise in book bans and...
PennWest enrollment declines slightly but is ‘steadying,’ official says
During her first semester at Kent State University in fall 2023, Alison Jones realized she wanted to attend a smaller university where she would be able to make her mark. “Kent was a little too big for me,” said Jones, 20, of Edinboro. “Transferring to Edinboro, there’s obviously a lot...
White House pushes colleges to commit to Trump agenda to boost access to federal fundsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is encouraging leaders at nine universities to sign a compact committing their schools to adopt President Donald Trump’s policy agenda for higher education in exchange for preferential access to federal funds. Administrators at nine prominent universities, both private and public institutions, received an Oct. 1...
Ligonier Valley School Board taps McKeesport Area administrator as new superintendent
Matthew Mols, assistant superintendent at McKeesport Area School District, is set to take on the role of superintendent at Ligonier Valley School District. Ligonier Valley School Board at a special Wednesday meeting voted unanimously to hire Mols under a five-year contract, with a starting base salary of $160,000. Mols was...
Pitt’s Oakland enrollment increases 4%; numbers stable elsewhere
Enrollment at the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus has increased by roughly 4%, according to data released Wednesday. Pitt reports more than 31,200 students attending the campus this fall, an increase from 29,927 last fall. Of those, about 21,380 are undergraduates, about 1,000 more than last fall; and 9,849 are...
Trump says Harvard to pay $500 million in deal with administration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration had reached a deal with Harvard University after months of negotiations and that the Ivy League school will pay $500 million. “Linda is finishing up the final details,” Trump told reporters at an event in the Oval Office, referring...
How AI is reshaping education — from teachers to students
When Emily Sanders worked as a high school English teacher, she never imagined being tasked with teaching her colleagues how to incorporate artificial intelligence into lesson plans. “I learned how to teach Shakespeare to kids,” she said. “I didn’t learn how to teach technology to teachers.” Fast forward and Sanders...
Educators question validity of national report claiming decline in test scores
Some Western Pennsylvania educators are pushing back on a national report indicating a decline in math and reading test scores among high school seniors. The report, released by the National Center for Education Statistics, has circulated through K-12 education sectors in recent weeks, raising concerns about seniors’ math and reading...
‘Trickle-up effect’: Administrators weigh in on improvements
As national test score reports generate concerns over student learning, an opposite pattern is unfolding at New Kensington-Arnold School District, according to Superintendent Chris Sefcheck. After hitting an all-time low in 2020, the district’s math and science scores on state tests are gradually increasing, Sefcheck said. In just two years,...
Southmoreland Middle School recognized by state for academic performance
Southmoreland Middle School was one of 13 Pennsylvania schools recognized by the state education department this week for academic performance. The initiative, Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools, was launched by the state after President Donald Trump ended the 40-year-old federal version of the program in August. Schools are recognized for their...
Pitt to launch 1st-of-its-kind natural gas, renewables and oil engineering degree
University of Pittsburgh officials say a new undergraduate degree will prepare future engineers for the evolving, global energy market. The Natural Gas, Renewables and Oil Engineering (GRO) program is designed to prepare students as energy production evolves, whether it be traditional oil and natural gas to solar, wind, biomass, hydroelectric...
Budget impasse leaves school districts in limbo over $4 billion in funding
The state’s nearly three-month budget impasse has cost Pennsylvania school districts almost $4 billion. That’s how much districts, technical schools and intermediate units should have received in state funding since July 1 — the day a new budget was supposed to take effect. Without a budget, the state isn’t making...
Southmoreland School Board censures director, adjusts livestream policy amid controversial comments
Southmoreland School Board voted this week to censure a member and stop livestreaming its meetings. The board removed comments made by School Director Catherine Fike from its Sept. 16 meeting recording. Fike, a retired school psychologist and veteran member of the school board, “disclosed confidential student information about a district...
Carnegie Mellon’s CS Academy brings free coding education to students worldwide
The whiteboard in Professor Mark Stehlik’s office at Carnegie Mellon University still has the details of what turned into a computer science program for high school students. Stehlik and colleague David Kosbie co-founded CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) CS (Computer Science) Academy, offering online computer science courses in 2017. Since its...
