Education category, Page 89
‘Short Edition’ dispenses words of wisdom at Carnegie Mellon UniversityVideo
This vending machine dispenses food for thought. “Short Edition” is based on the concept of pressing a button and, instead of drinks or snacks coming out, the user receives a story or a poem. It prints quickly. The paper is biodegradable. It’s available 24 hours a day. There is no...
Kentucky finds 1,000 teachers violated law during ‘sickouts’
FRANKFORT, Ky. — An election-year investigation into teacher rallies at Kentucky’s Capitol found more than 1,000 educators violated state law by participating in protests that shut down some schools, Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration said Friday. No penalties will be assessed, Kentucky’s labor secretary said, but he warned “the grace extended...
Gov. Wolf calls for sweeping reforms for charter schools in Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday vowed to level the playing field between Pennsylvania’s traditional public schools and charter and cyber charter schools. He said the latter lack accountability and transparency and are draining millions of dollars from struggling school districts. Calling the state’s 22-year-old public charter school law flawed and...
Mt. Pleasant teachers issue strike notice
Mt. Pleasant Area School District teachers who have been working without a contract for the last year issued a strike notice this week after failing to reach an agreement during their 15th negotiating session. The Mt. Pleasant Area Education Association, which represents 143 teachers, counselors, nurses and school psychologists, said...
Ruling could push how colleges handle sexual assault to U.S. Supreme Court
DETROIT — A ruling this past week by the federal 1st Circuit Court of Appeals could be the key to landing the issue of how universities handle sexual assaults before the U.S. Supreme Court. At the very least, the ruling pumps the brakes on the fast-moving train of judicial decisions...
Westmoreland schools getting new turf in final weeks before classesVideo
Blame it on the rain. Crews for artificial turf companies have been scrambling the past few weeks to install the rubber-based green carpet at stadiums across the area — including Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Jeannette and Norwin — before school starts. While retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back Dick Hoak and...
16-year-old earns National Merit Scholarship following freshman year at Carnegie Mellon
For Carnegie Mellon University students in the “Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science” course, it may have taken a little time to adjust to a teaching assistant two years their junior. On the other side of the equation, that 16-year-old teaching assistant, Elena Swecker of Murrysville, was also adjusting to...
Pittsburgh Diocese: St. Raphael School in Morningside will not reopen
Saint Raphael School in Pittsburgh’s Morningside neighborhood will not reopen for the 2019-2020 school year, officials with the Diocese of Pittsburgh said Saturday. The board of Pittsburgh East Regional Catholic Elementary Schools voted Friday night to recommend the school’s closure for the coming school year, board president the Rev. Kris...
Western Pa. colleges, universities named to Colleges of Distinction list
Several Western Pennsylvania colleges and universities were named to the 2019-20 Colleges of Distinction list, which helps upcoming college students navigate schools across the country based on size, cost, location, academic offering and more. Seton Hill University in Greensburg, California University of Pennsylvania in Washington County; Chatham, Duquesne, Point Park,...
Labor dispute escalates as Pitt declines to comply with subpoena
Relations between officials at the University of Pittsburgh and the leaders of a faculty union drive deteriorated this week after Pitt officials refused to comply with a sweeping subpoena from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Pitt faculty representatives filed for a union election in January, following a lengthy organizing drive...
Penn State holds the line on tuition
It may be hot outside, but there’s a slight breeze blowing for thousands of Pennsylvania families awaiting tuition bills from Penn State. Trustees Thursday voted to freeze tuition at its main campus for an unprecedented second consecutive year . The vote called for holding base undergraduate tuition for Pennsylvania residents...
North Allegheny hires veteran city schools administrator for assistant superintendent post
The North Allegheny school board has hired a veteran Pittsburgh Public Schools administrator to serve as the district’s assistant superintendent of secondary education. The board voted unanimously at its July 17 meeting to appoint Melissa Friez to the post to replace David Christopher, who has taken a job as the...
Barker named principal at Linton Middle School, other administrative changes made
Linton Middle School in Penn Hills has a new principal. The school board unanimously voted at a special meeting July 15 to have Sandra Barker lead the fifth through eighth-grade school starting next school year. “It’s a better fit,” board President Erin Vecchio said. “We have too many issues going...
Derry teacher in the running for $100,000 ‘Tools for Schools’ award from Harbor Freight
Two Pennsylvania teachers, including one from Derry, are in the running to receive up to $100,000 for their high schools’ skilled-trade programs. Roy Campbell, an agriculture mechanics teacher at Derry Area High School, along with Robert Brightbill, a construction teacher at Dauphin County Technical School in Harrisburg, are semifinalists in...
Cyberattacks inflict deep harm at technology-rich schools
AVON, Conn. — Over six weeks, the vandals kept coming, knocking the school system’s network offline several times a day. There was no breach of sensitive data files, but the attacks in which somebody deliberately overwhelmed the Avon Public Schools system in Connecticut still proved costly. Classroom lesson plans built...
Penn State’s Eric Barron third highest paid public university president
Penn State alumni can claim boasting rights this week thanks to a ranking that has nothing to do with college sports. A survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education found Penn State President Eric J. Barron was the third highest paid public university president in the nation last year when...
AG report: Unnecessary standardized tests cost Pa. taxpayers $18 million
Pennsylvania taxpayers are paying nearly $18 million a year for unnecessary standardized tests administered to high school seniors across the state, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale charged in a report issued Wednesday. The 18-page report “Where did your money go?” examines the costs associated with the Keystone Exams. DePasquale said his...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition, Pitt hikes rate
For the first time in 20 years, and the second time ever, tuition will not rise this year at the 14 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Basic tuition for in-state undergraduate students will remain at $7,716 for the 2019-20 school year. That comes after a...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition, Pitt hikes rate
For the first time in 20 years, and the second time ever, tuition will not rise this year at the 14 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Basic tuition for in-state undergraduate students will remain $7,716 for the 2019-20 school year. That comes after a unanimous...
Pennsylvania ranks No. 2 in U.S. student debt
This is a list that Pennsylvania won’t be proud to be high on. The Commonwealth ranked No. 2 in the country in student debt, according to WalletHub research. The report looked at average student debt, unemployment rates for people ages 25 to 34, students with past-due loans and student work...
College bills coming due? Here are some smart tips before you pay
With the cost of college rising each year, we did the math to see if it’s possible for students to pay their own way through school. In Pennsylvania, the worst state for affordability, students have to work 120 hours a week to cover in-state tuition and housing, according to price...
States looking to tackle college indebtedness in K-12 curricula
As student debt approaches $1.6 trillion nationally, presidential candidates are test-driving a raft of proposals to deal with what many consider a major problem. Everything from tuition-free public college to debt forgiveness was on the agenda when 20 Democratic presidential contenders took the debate stage last week. They aren’t alone...
Chevron, Benedum give STEM grants to 43 school districts
Chevron Appalachia and the Benedum Foundation hope a series of grants will put some steam into STEM programs at 43 area school districts. The most recent Innovation Grants, now in their third year, went to 43 school districts in southwestern Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio, and totalled nearly...
Former student who reported rape says Marshall University betrayed her
The warnings came in text messages from her friends: He’s outside the dorm. He’s at the student center. He’s at Starbucks. But for Alicia Gonzales, sometimes it didn’t matter where he was. She would often hide away in her room on the campus of Marshall University, overcome with fear that...
Legacy of teacher walkouts could be more political activism
OKLAHOMA CITY — Betty Collins was born and raised in Tulsa, but the eighth grade history teacher hadn’t been to the state Capitol in Oklahoma City until last spring, when she educators throughout the state walked off the job to protest for better wages and public school funding. Since that...
