Education category, Page 53
How will student loan relief impact the economy, higher education? Western Pa. professors weigh in
People are talking about the Biden administration’s student loan relief plan “as if these loans will magically disappear,” according to Antony Davies, economics professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. The problem is, they won’t. On Aug. 24, the administration announced its plans to cancel up to $10,000 of student debt...
Seton Hill faculty member receives Black Educators’ Excellence Lifetime Award
A member of the Seton Hill University faculty has been recognized by the Pittsburgh-based State of Black Learning organization for her career achievements. Tricia Shelton, an assistant professor of education at Seton Hill, recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s Black Educators’ Excellence Awards. The ceremony was held...
School lunch ideas for pint-size vegetarians
Do you have a vegetarian living in your home? Even a little one? There are many kinds of vegetarianism, but many folks are reducing the amount of meat in their diets, or cutting it out altogether. And these choices are being made by kids, too. So with the new school...
High-stakes year begins for kids still learning to read
ATLANTA — Five of the 19 students in teacher Chelsea Grant’s third grade classroom are reading below grade level. When it’s time to read aloud on a recent Friday, the students show vastly different levels of skill and confidence. “Remember you read with expression, feeling and fluency,” Grant told her...
Greensburg Salem looks to increase student engagement as kindergarten numbers drop
Greensburg Salem School District is looking to get students more engaged in learning as they returned to the classroom Tuesday for the fall semester. District Superintendent Ken Bissell said in a letter posted on the Greensburg Salem website that staff have been “busy all summer preparing for engagement in teaching...
Surprise: Pa. borrowers may end up paying state taxes on forgiven student loans
Residents of Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and 10 other states could end up with a surprise tax hit of hundreds of dollars next year on forgiven student loans. President Joe Biden’s announcement that the government would forgive some student debt for individuals earning less than $125,000 was welcome news to...
Point Park program allows those with other degrees to pursue teaching career
Over the course of Craig Johnston’s 20-year engineering career, the thought of becoming a teacher often crossed his mind. But it wasn’t until 2020 — months before the covid-19 pandemic would shut down most aspects of day-to-day life — that Johnston took the leap. In January of that year, Johnston...
Pa. lawmakers eye stronger guidelines as school districts enhance security measures
Following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Pennsylvania lawmakers approved a grant program with the goal of getting $300 million to state school districts for security upgrades. Four years after the killing of 17 people, schools in Western Pennsylvania are continuing to make...
Pitt-Greensburg welcomes first-year students for fall semester
Upperclassmen, alumni, faculty members and family pitched in Wednesday to help first-year students settle into campus residence halls at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Final enrollment figures weren’t available for the fall semester, but university President Robert Gregerson said, “Enrollment is up from last year. We had a really...
Federal student loan forgiveness is welcomed in Westmoreland, but overdue for some
Virginia native Grace Merrbach was all smiles Wednesday when she learned of the student loan forgiveness program announced the same day by President Joe Biden. “I’m very excited,” said the 21-year-old senior biology major at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. “That gets rid of all of my student debt...
Biden announces big student loan forgiveness planVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced detailed plans to deliver on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans — and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need — along with measures to lower the burden of repayment...
Cellphones in schools: Some districts take steps to eliminate devices from class while others balance benefits
Wake up. Check your phone. Go to class. Check your phone. Start homework. Check your phone. Go to bed. Check your phone. For some high schoolers, cellphone use is almost on par with blinking, with the average teenager raking in up to nine hours of screen time each day, according...
Greensburg Salem to celebrate school spirit with bash at Offutt Field
The Greensburg Salem School District is inviting the community to celebrate local school pride at a Back to School Bash Wednesday at Greensburg’s Offutt Field. Admission is free for the event, which is slated for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Urania Avenue and Laird Street. It will take place...
Pitt move-in days coincide with high covid levels — masks required indoors
Move-in day at the University of Pittsburgh will mean wearing masks for the estimated 8,000 students lugging their belongings into campus housing starting Saturday. With covid-19 transmission still in the high level in Allegheny County, the university requires masks to be worn indoors, as per CDC guidelines. Face coverings are...
How to make the transition back to school a smooth one
There’s nothing quite like new school year excitement — unless you’re overwhelmed by all of the back-to-school prepping and hype. Whether it’s being on time, dealing with first-day nerves or making sure your student has a happy return to class, area educators, parents and school officials share their tried-and-true back-to-school...
Seton Hill University center gets new name, helps students improve writing skills
Hope Albert had a bad habit of using run-on sentences in the papers she turned in for her college courses. But that problem, and others that hampered the Washington Township senior’s written compositions at Seton Hill University, are in the past tense, thanks to help she received through one of...
Franklin Regional hires new assistant superintendent, assistant high school principal
Franklin Regional school board members filled a couple of the positions left open after the departure of several administrators in the past few months. School directors approved a new assistant superintendent and assistant high school principal, following the resignations of Robin Pynos and Ted Benning, respectively. Matthew Delp joins the...
So-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law confuses some Florida schools
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Some Florida schools have moved library books and debated changing textbooks in response to a law critics call “Don’t Say Gay” — and some teachers have worried that family pictures on their desks could get them in trouble. As students return from summer break, educators are cautiously...
Pitt law school to help Afghan asylum seekers receive pro bono legal representation
The University of Pittsburgh School of Law is lending a hand to help Afghan refugees secure asylum. The university plans to hire an Asylum Fellow to train and support pro bono attorneys who will work with local organizations in assisting refugees, said Pitt professor Sheila Vélez Martínez. Vélez Martínez is...
Western Pa. colleges readying for Round 3 with covid-19 mitigation plans
Leaders at local universities and colleges are planning for a mostly traditional school year, complete with in-person learning and open activities — all while keeping an eye on covid-19. As students prepare to return to campus, schools are gearing up for the third academic year of monitoring the coronavirus on...
‘We want to fill this program’: Seton Hill to launch varsity esports program this fall
Seton Hill track and field athlete Logan Lindenmuth will become a multi-sport athlete this fall. With the Greensburg university adapting its unofficial gaming club into a varsity program in the coming academic year, Lindenmuth — a rising junior studying computer science — will be among the first official esports players...
Inflation weighs on back-to-school buying for many families
NEW YORK — To understand the impact of surging inflation on this year’s back-to-school spending, look no further than children’s rain boots with motifs like frogs and ladybugs made by Washington Shoe Co. Spending held steady for these evergreen items even after the Kent, Washington-based business was forced to pass...
As fewer kids enroll, big cities face a small schools crisis
CHICAGO — On a recent morning inside Chalmers School of Excellence on Chicago’s West Side, five preschool and kindergarten students finished up drawings. Four staffers, including a teacher and a tutor, chatted with them about colors and shapes. The summer program offers the kind of one-on-one support parents love. But...
Penn State will receive $12.1M in federal funds but is still raising tuition. Here’s why
Although Penn State is slated to receive an additional batch of unexpected funding from Governor Tom Wolf, university officials are rejecting a call from House Republicans to use the one-time allocation to roll back plans to raise tuition. Penn State will receive about $12.1 million from Wolf’s administration through funding...
Yough hires Mt. Pleasant Area assistant superintendent as new superintendent
Yough School District will have a new superintendent with a familiar face — the former middle school principal. Mt. Pleasant Area School District Assistant Superintendent Anthony DeMaro was hired by the Yough School Board last week as the district’s next superintendent under terms of a five-year contract. DeMaro, who will...
