Education category, Page 7
WCCC sees enrollment increase after years of decline
After 14 years of declining enrollment, Westmoreland County Community College may be starting to reverse the trend. As of the first day of classes, enrollment is up nearly 1.9%, or 42 students, compared to the first day of the 2024-25 academic year. And that doesn’t account for students taking late-start...
Judge lifts suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine at University of Pittsburgh
A federal judge on Thursday lifted a suspension against a pro-Palestinian student group at the University of Pittsburgh, finding that the speech they engaged in leading up to the suspension was protected by the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan granted a motion seeking a preliminary injunction for...
Pittsburgh’s Catholic leaders on alert after school shooting in Minneapolis
A Pittsburgh-area native leads the Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese, where gunfire during a back-to-school Mass Wednesday killed two students and injured more than a dozen others. Archbishop Bernard Hebda grew up in Brookline. His counterpart in Pittsburgh, Bishop Mark Eckman, offered prayers for Hebda and everyone else reeling from the latest...
‘Happy where we are’: enrollment steady at Pittsburgh area Catholic schools, superintendent says
With enrollment seemingly stabilizing after a post-pandemic dip, the superintendent the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh’s schools said there are no plans for school closures on the table in the near future. “As of right now, we are pretty stable and happy where we are,” said Superintendent Lauren Martin. Martin was...
Mt. Lebanon named highest-ranked Pittsburgh-area high school in national listing
Mt. Lebanon was the highest-ranked Pittsburgh-area school in a U.S. News and World Report listing of the country’s best public high schools. The list, released last week, assessed more than 24,000 public high schools across the country. The majority of the schools, 18,000, were ranked on several performance-related factors: college...
Last chance: Penn State New Kensington, Fayette welcome final 2-year class before impending closure
Bailey Maschok always knew she wanted to spend two years studying at Penn State New Kensington and finish her degree at the university’s main campus in State College. “I’m really grateful I made the cutoff to do two years here before going up to main campus,” said Maschok, 18, of...
Panel at Sewickley Public Library discuss student cellphone use in school
A panel of local educators, an advocacy group and a college student believe cellphones are a distraction for young learners. One of the panelists at a discussion held at the Sewickley Public Library on Aug. 22, state education lead for Pennsylvania Unplugged, Kelly Marsh, cited various statistics, including the fact...
As back-to-school costs rise, educators rely upon donations to bolster classroom supplies
The brightly colored posters, comfortable seats and hands-on science experiments present in Kaylyn Wojnarowski’s Gateway classroom might not exist if the first grade teacher relied solely on the district’s budget for supplies. Wojnarowski welcomed students back to her classroom at Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary on Thursday — the start of...
Hempfield Area drafts 3D designs for high school renovation
Five years after Hempfield Area School District approved a feasibility study for a renovation of its 1956 high school, the district is starting to nail down what the refurbished building will look like. Architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates laid out visions for the project in October, and the school board...
Budget busters: Western Pa. schools battle rising costs, strained finances to renovate aging facilities
Superintendent Tammy Andreyko started her tenure at Quaker Valley in August 2018 meeting with district officials to discuss the possibility of building a new high school. Seven years later, dirt has yet to be moved on the 150-acre property the district purchased in May 2017 to replace its nearly century-old...
Carnegie Mellon study exposes gaps in AI’s self-awareness
For the average person, artificial intelligence chatbots are a quick and easy way to find a trivia fact, homemade cookie recipe or even sample emails to send to your boss. But as this technology becomes widespread — infiltrating jobs and government offices — people do not realize the faults in...
Students face new cellphone restrictions in 17 states as school year begins
Jamel Bishop is seeing a big change in his classrooms as he begins his senior year at Doss High School in Louisville, Kentucky, where cellphones are now banned during instructional time. In previous years, students often weren’t paying attention and wasted class time by repeating questions, the teenager said. Now,...
Carnegie Mellon president discusses finances ahead of town halls
Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian announced Wednesday that he will hold two town halls next month as he detailed the university’s financial status in a letter to students and faculty. “These forums will allow me and our leadership team to share more about the university’s short-term plans and long-term...
Oklahoma to screen would-be teachers from N.Y., Calif. to keep ‘leftist propaganda’ out of schools
For now, Pennsylvanians looking to land a teaching job in Oklahoma won’t have to take a test designed to weed out “woke indoctrinators” seeking classroom work in the conservative Sooner State. Oklahoma soon will begin administering what Ryan Walters, the state’s elected superintendent of public instruction, calls the “America First”...
Oklahoma to test teachers from New York, California to guard against ‘radical leftist ideology’
Oklahoma will require applicants for teacher jobs coming from California and New York to pass an exam that the Republican-dominated state’s top education official says is designed to safeguard against “radical leftist ideology,” but which opponents decry as a “MAGA loyalty test.” Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s public schools superintendent, said Monday...
Derry Area, Clairton City school district officials wary of state budget impasse
As Pennsylvania’s budget impasse approaches the two-month mark, Derry Area School District is missing out on vital state funding just days out from the start of the academic year. More than half — 55% — of the district’s $43 million budget is supported by state funding, said Business Manager Scott...
Conservative college student organizations more empowered to share views
Julia Cassidy says she has always felt confident expressing her conservative political views at the University of Pittsburgh, even though they aren’t shared by most of her peers. Since Donald Trump regained the Oval Office, though, Cassidy, president of Pitt’s College Republicans, says she has noticed more students sharing conservative...
Judge strikes down Trump administration guidance against diversity programs at schools and colleges
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation’s schools and universities. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland stated that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut...
Edgewood Elementary to start late due to ongoing building renovations
Woodland Hills School District students are sharpening their pencils and putting together their backpacks for the first day of school, but not everyone will be back in the classroom as expected. Edgewood Elementary school students will now have late start to the 2025-26 school year. Building renovations are still underway....
Quaker Valley School District officials, staff prepare for start of 2025-26 school year
Quaker Valley School District officials and staff are eager to welcome nearly 1,830 students at the start of the 2025-26 school year. Students in kindergarten through ninth grade are expected to report Wednesday, Aug. 20, and all students will be in schools the following day. Staffers are to report Thursday,...
Fox Chapel Area School District officials and staff prepare for 2025-26 school year
Fox Chapel Area School District officials and staff are eager to welcome students for the 2025-26 school year. The first day of school is Aug. 21. Officials said there are about 355 teachers ready to educate about 4,330 students, an increase of 52 students from last school year’s 4,278 enrollment....
Morning Roundup: Penn Hills police seek info on armed robber; it’s college move-in time again
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025: Penn Hills police seek pizza shop robber Penn Hills police are seeking information on a suspect who committed an armed robbery Aug. 9 at Pasquale’s Pizzeria along Saltsburg Road. Restaurant staff turned over surveillance video...
Hempfield Area looks to bolster curriculum oversight at elementary schools
Hempfield Area School District is looking to add another layer of oversight to the curriculum at its five elementary schools. The school board will vote next week on assigning one chairperson per K-5 grade level. Each chairperson would help ensure continuity in learning at the district’s Fort Allen, West Point,...
Opponents of controversial hiring accuse Leechburg Area School Board of political bias
Leechburg Area School Board members were presented with formal complaints and questions Wednesday night following a controversial hiring decision. Neill Brady, a Leechburg resident and school board candidate, voiced his dismay and requested answers after his son-in-law, Sean Hess, was passed over for a position with the district despite receiving...
Harvard and the Trump administration are nearing a settlement including a $500 million payment
WASHINGTON — Harvard University and the Trump administration are getting close to an agreement that would require the Ivy League university to pay $500 million to regain access to federal funding and to end investigations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The framework is still being sorted out...
