Education category, Page 60
Pair of La Roche alumnae elected to top leadership posts on university’s board of trustees
A pair of alumnae of La Roche University in McCandless have been elected to serve in leadership positions on the board of trustees. Class of 2003 graduate Ernestine Harris will serve as board chair and Dione Graswick, who graduated in 1993, is the new vice chair, university officials announced. “I...
Duquesne University invokes mask mandate as students head to campusVideo
Citing a troubling increase in covid-19 infections regionally, Duquesne University announced Wednesday it is invoking a temporary mask mandate, effective Friday. The Pittsburgh university, which has required covid-19 vaccines as a condition of attendance this fall, said officials are requiring all individuals on campus to mask indoors, both in public...
Pittsburgh Public Schools pushes back start of school
Students of Pittsburgh Public Schools won’t return to class until Sept. 8 to give the district more time to iron out transportation issues, administrators said Tuesday. “We are also listening to the concerns raised by our staff related to the impact traditionally high temperatures in August have on our facilities,...
Sewickley Academy issues letter to parents addressing reasons for changes, including ‘toxic culture’
The Interim Head of School at Sewickley Academy, Ashley Birtwell, sent out a letter Aug. 4 to parents addressing the recent turmoil of events that have occurred at Sewickley Academy over the past six weeks. The letter, which the school also sent to the Sewickley Herald, comes after Academy representatives...
Pause on student loan payments extended through January
The Biden administration on Friday issued what it says will be the final extension to a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through Jan. 31, 2022. Interest rates...
Empty dorm rooms pose financial problems for Pennsylvania public universities
Editor’s note: The original version of this story understated the total cost of the combined projects. This update reflects the higher, actual figures. As the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education finalizes the details of a historic consolidation, officials on the campuses of eight of its 14 universities are struggling...
To mask or not: School districts debate health, safety plans for year ahead
A split is forming among local school districts — those requiring masks for students in the coming academic year and those that leave the decision to personal choice — largely because of a lack of mandates from state or national health advisers. The Pennsylvania departments of health and education are...
Fine line divides local public and private universities on vaccine requirements
A fine line is dividing public and private universities in the region with regard to vaccine mandates. While private universities including Carnegie Mellon, Chatham, Seton Hill and Duquesne are requiring vaccinations for those on campus this fall, public universities here are stopping short of adopting mandates that state lawmakers —...
Schools confront more polarization with mask rules for fall
Students in Wichita, Kansas, public schools can ditch the masks when classes begin. Detroit public schools will probably require them unless everyone in a room is vaccinated. In Pittsburgh, masks will likely be required regardless of vaccination status. And in some states, schools cannot mandate face coverings under any circumstances....
Woodland Hills principal heads home to Aliquippa as superintendent
Woodland Hills High School is losing a principal, and the Aliquippa School District is gaining a new superintendent. On Wednesday, the Aliquippa School Board unanimously voted to hire Phillip K. Woods, who grew up in Aliquippa, as its superintendent. He replaces Superintendent Peter Carbone. Woods has been principal at Woodland...
Penn State trustees vote to raise tuition for 2021-22 school year
HARRISBURG — Penn State will impose its first tuition increase for incoming in-state undergraduate students since the 2017-18 school year, under a plan approved by trustees on Thursday. Incoming Pennsylvania resident students will see a 2.5% tuition increase at all campuses for the 2021-22 school year. At the University Park...
New Cal U interim president to steer consolidation
In their first move toward building a consolidated mega school comprising California, Clarion and Edinboro universities, the board of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has named Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson interim president of Cal U. Her appointment Wednesday places Pehrsson, who joined the State System as president of Clarion University...
Plan approved to continue with consolidation of California, Clarion and Edinboro universities
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education will move forward to consolidate California, Clarion and Edinboro universities into a single university in Western Pennsylvania, the state schools’ board of governors decided unanimously Wednesday. Work also is underway to combine Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities into a single unit in...
Pennsylvania recruiting new school bus drivers amid shortage
Over 1.5 million Pennsylvania students rely on bus drivers to get to and from school, sporting events and other activities — but the industry is struggling to overcome a driver shortage. The Pennsylvania School Bus Association (PSBA) — which consists of over 300 school bus contractors and industry partners —...
Pitt hikes tuition, room and board costs for fall 2021
The cost of Pitt education is increasing this fall as the university prepares to resume routine operations after more than a year of pandemic restrictions. The increases, adopted Tuesday, call for a 2.5% bump to the lowest base tuition at Pitt’s Oakland campus, taking the cost for Pennsylvania residents from...
Acclaim, fundraising spread unevenly among Black colleges
ATLANTA — Two recent high-profile faculty appointments could be a fundraising and enrollment bonanza for Howard University, one of the nation’s most prestigious Black colleges. Many other Black schools are not so fortunate; in fact, many are struggling. Some, especially smaller private colleges, have been fighting for their survival for...
Tears, politics and money: School boards become battle zones
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Local school boards around the country are increasingly becoming cauldrons of anger and political division, boiling with disputes over such issues as covid-19 mask rules, the treatment of transgender students and how to teach the history of racism and slavery in America. Meetings that were once...
New life sciences building to go up this fall on Pitt-Greensburg campus
Officials at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg are preparing to break ground for a new life sciences building this summer, following official action on the proposal by Pitt’s Properties and Facilities Committee. The project, years in the making, calls for the construction of a $19.3 million, 32,000-square-foot facility at the school’s...
Vaccinated teachers, students don’t need masks, CDC says
NEW YORK — Vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside school buildings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its covid-19 guidelines. The changes come amid a national vaccination campaign in which children as young as 12 are eligible to get shots, as...
Zaila Avant-garde breezes to National Spelling Bee win
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Whether dribbling a basketball or identifying obscure Latin or Greek roots, Zaila Avant-garde doesn’t show much stress. The 14-year-old from Harvey, La., breezed to the championship at the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night, becoming the first African American winner and only the second...
Pittsburgh council, teachers’ union leader talk about ’emergency’ in school system
It’s been five months since Pittsburgh City Council declared a state of emergency in the public school system. The legislation was passed to begin a process by which the city’s leaders would work with Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders to address a racial achievement gap between white and Black students and...
Union will defend teachers in ‘critical race theory’ fights
One of the nation’s largest teachers unions on Tuesday vowed to defend members who are punished for teaching an “honest history” of the United States, a measure that’s intended to counter the wave of states seeking to limit classroom discussion on race and discrimination. In prepared remarks obtained by the...
Kids return to Saint Vincent College for Challenge Program, ‘Galactic Mission’
As the world opens back up, students at Saint Vincent College’s Challenge Program are blasting off into the worlds of space and in-person socialization. The Challenge Program, a weeklong science- and math-based summer camp, has been in existence for 40 years. After a year off because of the pandemic, program...
Career and technical schools cope with pandemic, share optimism about future
When the covid-19 pandemic extended into the 2020-21 school year, districts had to find a way to safely accommodate students and still deliver quality education. For career and technical education (CTE) schools, that challenge was multiplied, but as individual schools rose to meet it, they took away plenty of positives...
State’s Level Up funding supplement helps 3 of Westmoreland’s least wealthy school districts
Administrators at three Westmoreland County school districts are glad to accept supplemental state funding approved this year for Pennsylvania’s least wealthy districts. But, it may take a little while to decide how best to spend the extra money, which Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday as part of a $300 million...
