Education category, Page 93
Franklin Regional students take 2nd place at regional Science Olympiad at Cal U
The Franklin Regional Middle School (FRMS) Science Olympiad Team placed second at the Pennsylvania Southwestern regional tournament held March 6 at California University of Pennsylvania. The competition was a series of 23 events that used various methods to test students’ scientific knowledge, including written tests, problem-solving activities and building events....
Pitt disputes claims of union suppression
University of Pittsburgh officials are denying student claims that their choice of locations for a union election for graduate student workers was an attempt to suppress the voting turnout. Graduate teaching and research assistants at Pitt won a right to hold a union election last week when the Pennsylvania Labor...
Pitt graduate workers blast university for union suppression tactics
Graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh say school officials are trying to suppress voter turnout for an upcoming union election by insisting it be held at two locations removed from the center of the Oakland campus. Last week, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ruled against the university’s attempts...
TV stars, coaches charged in college bribery scheme
BOSTON — Fifty people, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were charged Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation’s most elite schools. Federal authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam...
Pennsylvania college students beat national average for graduation
Pennsylvania college students are graduating at rates well above the national average, despite a troubling racial gap. Those were among the findings in a new study of six-year graduation rates for students who were college freshmen in 2012. The report, released by the National Student Clearinghouse, found 72.6 percent of...
School lessons targeted by climate change doubters
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut lawmaker wants to strike climate change from state science standards. A Virginia legislator worries teachers are indoctrinating students with their personal views on global warming. And an Oklahoma state senator wants educators to be able to introduce alternative viewpoints without fear of losing their jobs....
Franklin Regional’s Reljac chosen for women’s leadership award
Mary Catherine Reljac, assistant superintendent at the Franklin Regional School District, is the 2019 Dr. Jean E. Winsand Distinguished Woman in Education Award honoree. The award is presented by the Tri-State Area School Study Council, part of the University of Pittsburgh. Reljac, who has been with the district since 2013,...
New Kensington native to be honored for teaching career in Colorado
A New Kensington native now living in Colorado will receive an award Saturday honoring her career as a teacher. Jamie D. Johnson will receive The Education Center’s Lifetime Educator of the Year 30 Year’s award during a banquet Saturday. Johnson, who still has relatives in the area, was born in...
Auditor General: Wilkinsburg schools have hope ‘for first time in generation’
The Wilkinsburg School District is finally heading in the right direction, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced Wednesday. “We now have some hope in the Wilkinsburg School District, I think for the first time in probably a generation,” DePasquale said, unveiling the results of a recent audit, which covers July...
West Jefferson Hills parents voice concerns over racist social media post
African American parents in the West Jefferson Hills School District are enraged after a Thomas Jefferson High School student allegedly made a racist social media post about a fellow student that circulated widely Tuesday. The photo is of an African American student appearing to be sitting in a school science...
Laurel Valley slates kindergarten registration
Laurel Valley Elementary School is seeking to register 3- and 4-year-olds who live in the district for kindergarten this fall. Registration and K4 screening will be held at the school Mar. 25-26. Parents should call the school office at 724-235-2723 to make an appointment. Admission to kindergarten is recommended for...
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to close 2 schools, merge 2 others next school year
Bishop David Zubik announced Saturday that two Catholic schools will close next school year, while another two will merge to form a new school. St. John Bosco Academy in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood and St. Agnes School in West Mifflin will close, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Saturday. St. Malachy...
Cyber charter school costs are under the microscope
Tiffany Nix, superintendent of Leechburg Area schools, watched in frustration for years as hundreds of thousands of dollars went out the doors of her small, cash-strapped district with families who enrolled their children in cyber charter schools. “We were paying $13,000 to $24,000 a year for each of them. It...
Pitt to match Pell Grants for undergraduates
The University of Pittsburgh announced a plan Friday to match Pell Grants for all eligible undergraduate students beginning in the fall. The Pitt Success Pell Match Program will match the federal funds dollar for dollar, up to the cost of attendance for eligible students across all five of Pitt’s campuses...
Belle Vernon superintendent, 3 board members resign
The Belle Vernon Area School Board this week accepted the resignation of three board members and received the intent of resignation from the superintendent, according to board solicitor Victor Kustra. Superintendent Michele Dowell and board members Aaron Bialon, John Nusser and Dan Sepesky all resigned, taking the nine-person board down...
IUP professor working with former Gov. Ridge on Homeland Security book
A political science professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is collaborating with former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge on a new book on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “The third-largest federal agency was created in 14 months. That’s just a little mentally overwhelming,” Dr. Aleea Lynn Perry told The Penn,...
Percussion, auxiliary band units to compete in Penn-Trafford indoor shows
The Penn-Trafford High School Music Department will sponsor two competitive band shows Feb. 23 in the high school gym that will feature color guard, baton, dance and percussion units from area high schools, universities and independent groups. A Tournament of Bands Indoor Association show will begin at 10 a.m., with...
Seton Hill meets ambitious scholarship goal
Seton Hill University is celebrating its good fortune on surpassing a $10 million centennial fundraising goal for scholarships at the Catholic university. The Greensburg-based school that celebrated its 100th anniversary last year announced Monday it has beat its goal, raising slightly more than $10 million from alumni and other backers...
Hempfield student to receive Hispanic Heritage award in Miami
Jaylen Barrientos-Collins, a senior at Hempfield Area High School, will be one of six students to receive the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s annual National Youth Award on Thursday in Miami. Of Dominican descent, Barrientos-Collins was chosen for his leadership in the classroom and the community and for his focus on the...
Susan B. Anthony’s ‘statesmanship’ topic of Saint Vincent lecture
Abolitionist, suffragist and women’s rights campaigner Susan B. Anthony will be the subject of a lecture Feb. 20 at Saint Vincent College in Unity. Natalie Taylor, an associate professor of political science at Skidmore College, will present “Failure is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony’s Statesmanship” at 7:30 p.m. in the college’s...
PHEAA to reconsider troubled TEACH grant loan conversions
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s FedLoan Servicing unit will begin taking applications Feb. 1 for reconsideration from teachers who believe their federal TEACH grants were erroneously converted to loans. Those accepted for reconsideration will see their debt erased and any loan payments that were made refunded, PHEAA officials said....
Florida school joins list of universities that have had to withdraw acceptance letters
College acceptance notifications are occasion for celebration; but there are some exceptions. The Tampa Bay Tribune reported that this year’s exception was the University of South Florida, where someone hit a send button that sent email notifications soaring through the ether to some 680 applicants who had applied to the...
Tony Award-winning Saint Vincent grad to speak about internet’s future
A Saint Vincent College graduate who has straddled the worlds of web-based technology and Broadway entertainment will return to the Unity campus March 14 to speak about new possibilities for the internet. In his presentation, “The Once and Future Internet,” Michael Kriak will discuss new, decentralized models for use of...
Chevron grants to bolster STEM programs at 46 Pennsylvania schools
Several area school districts have received grants from Chevron Appalachia to either start or enhance their Project Lead The Way programs. Chevron announced $1 million in grants to schools in southwestern Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio. Forty-six schools in Pennsylvania received $790,000, including the following school districts:Belle Vernon...
Strike by Los Angeles teachers enters fifth day amid talks
LOS ANGELES — Teachers picketed and rallied Friday as a strike against the giant Los Angeles Unified School District extended to a fifth day with a new round of contract negotiations underway. Drums, whistles, shouts and honks from supportive drivers echoed through downtown as groups of teachers and backers walked...
