Education category, Page 8
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...
Penn State president’s raise turns heads, but some say it’s a reflection of the industry
To some Penn State faculty members, recent decisions from the university’s Board of Trustees have had a bit of a whiplash effect. In May, trustees voted to close the New Kensington and Fayette campuses in two years — as well as five others — citing enrollment and financial declines and...
Slippery Rock enrollment up 2.75% — its highest increase in 9 years
Slippery Rock University is experiencing record enrollment and retention rates this fall semester. Total enrollment at the Butler County state college is 8,625 students, a 2.75% increase from last fall, according to the university. It’s Slippery Rock’s largest single-year increase in the past nine years. There are 1,549 full-time, first-year...
PennWest, IUP partner with Google to expand AI training
When leaders in the business, manufacturing and education fields seek PennWest University students for internships and jobs, they’re not just asking if candidates are skilled in artificial intelligence. They’re also asking if the students can lead AI training and development for their potential peers, said Camille Dempsey, director of the...
Hempfield to pilot Lego-based therapy program at 2 elementaries
Two Hempfield Area elementary schools will pilot a Lego-based therapy program this school year. Carnegie Mellon University partnered with a Western Pennsylvania nonprofit called Matt’s Maker Space to bring the Brick Club program to the region’s schools. The concept comes from Play Included, a company based in Cambridge, England, that...
Pitt’s new $240M rec center is a game-changer for students — and it’s free to use
Carla Panzella says she has a different answer each time she’s asked about her favorite part of the University of Pittsburgh’s new 270,000-square-foot recreation and wellness center. There’s much to pick from at the new space, which opened to Pitt students Sunday at 3921 O’Hara St. It boasts nine stories,...
Duquesne University to offer real estate major
A college degree isn’t required to hold a real estate license, but Duquesne University officials say a new program they’ll offer will give students a leg up in that field. Duquesne will be offering an undergraduate Real Estate major, minor and certificate program beginning next fall. “There’s a lot of...
Oklahoma court stops social studies standards with 2020 election misinformation from taking effect
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily put on hold proposed new social studies standards for K-12 public school students that include conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The state’s high court issued a temporary stay on Monday while a lawsuit filed by a group of parents and educators...
CCAC reports 9% enrollment increase over last fall
The Community College of Allegheny County is seeing a larger student population — just over 9% more than last year — this fall, said President Quintin Bullock. “This is probably the largest increase we’ve experienced in the last five years,” Bullock told TribLive. While numbers will be finalized later in...
Trump administration boosts HBCU funding after cutting grants for Hispanic-serving colleges
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is redirecting nearly $500 million in federal funding toward historically Black colleges and tribal colleges, a one-time investment covered primarily by cuts to other colleges serving large numbers of minority students. The Education Department announced the funding boost days after cutting $350 million from other...
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi gets 47% raise in wake of campus closure decision
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi’s base salary will increase 47% in an effort, approved Friday by the university’s board of trustees, to keep her as president until 2032. The trustees voted 34-1 to approve Bendapudi’s new compensation package, which increases her base salary from $950,000 to $1.4 million, an increase...
Penn State to close WPSU radio station
Penn State will shut down its public radio station, WPSU, after trustees voted against a proposal to transfer its operating assets to WHYY, a public media organization in Philadelphia. WPSU has depended on annual subsidies of at least $3.4 million from the university to operate the station. The university budgeted...
Western Pa. college campuses grapple with fear and security after Charlie Kirk’s killing
Seton Hill student Romilleigh Donovan disagreed with viewpoints of late conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah. Still, Donovan, a sophomore studying criminal justice, was deeply troubled by Kirk’s death on Wednesday. “I was appalled, but I was not surprised...
Western Pa. college students grapple with fear and security after Charlie Kirk’s killing
Seton Hill University student Romilleigh Donovan disagreed with viewpoints of late conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah. Still the sophomore studying criminal justice was deeply troubled by Kirk’s death on Wednesday. “I was appalled, but I was not surprised...
Judge issues nationwide block on Trump policy that cuts off Head Start for people in U.S. illegally
A federal judge has issued a nationwide block on a Trump administration directive that prevented children in the U.S. illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program. Head Start associations in several states filed suit against the policy change by the U.S. Department of Health and Human...
Hundreds of Pennsylvania educators call for cyber charter funding reform in state budget
Hundreds of Pennsylvania school district administrators are calling for cyber charter funding reform to be included in the state’s 2025-26 budget. A letter featuring signatures from administrators at 215 schools was sent to state legislators Thursday — calling for a cyber charter funding formula that reflects the true cost of...
Trump administration cuts grants for minority-serving colleges, declaring them unconstitutional
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is ending several grant programs reserved for colleges that have large numbers of minority students, saying they amount to illegal discrimination by tying federal money to racial quotas. In a shift upending decades of precedent, the Education Department said Wednesday it now believes it’s unconstitutional...
High school seniors’ math, reading scores declining, national report says
High school seniors’ math and reading comprehension are on the decline, according to a national report. The National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education, administered the National Assessment of Educational Progress to a sample of students from 1,500 schools throughout the country from January to...
U.S. high school students lose ground in math and reading, continuing yearslong decline
WASHINGTON — A decade-long slide in high schoolers’ reading and math performance persisted during the covid-19 pandemic, with 12th graders’ scores dropping to their lowest level in more than 20 years, according to results released Tuesday from an exam known as the nation’s report card. Eighth-grade students also lost significant...
