Education category, Page 96
South Florida teacher faces suspension for showing videos with nudes
The pictures displayed by a high school art teacher showed nudity, for sure. The question is whether they were artistic or obscene. Brenda Fischer, a veteran teacher at Western High School in Davie, Fla., faces a three-day suspension for showing her students a video with nude models in positions that...
Franklin Regional robotics team qualifies for FIRST World Championships in DetroitVideo
In the FIRST Robotics Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition, some high-school robotics teams are sponsored by technology titans such as Carnegie Mellon University, or have access to state-of-the-art facilities to create their robots. The FRobotics team members do their work in their mentor’s garage in Murrysville, and this year that work...
Hempfield grads-to-be to participate in senior walk
With about two months until seniors at Hempfield Area High School leave the district and move on to the next steps of their lives, they have one more chance to go back to where it all began. The Senior Walk gives graduating seniors the opportunity to walk the halls of...
Pennsylvania state universities freed to set tuition
Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will have new latitude in setting tuition under a policy the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of High Education approved Thursday. Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will have new latitude in setting tuition under a policy approved Thursday. Annual tuition rates for the schools...
Soon-to-be vacant high school considered for Jefferson Hills community center site
A soon-to-be vacant school building could become the new home to a community center in Jefferson Hills. At a West Jefferson Hills School Board meeting March 26, representatives from Core Architects suggested using a portion of the existing Thomas Jefferson High School for the proposed community center. “What intrigues us...
Pennsylvania among 27 states offering ‘Cyber FastTrack’ program for students
A national cybersecurity program designed specifically for undergraduate and graduate students will launch Friday in Pennsylvania and 26 other states to encourage more young people to discover their talent and pursue careers in cybersecurity. The Cyber FastTrack program is designed to entice more people into cybersecurity as well as bridge...
Author James Patterson donates $1.25M to classroom libraries
NEW YORK — James Patterson’s latest gift for literacy is a $1.25 million pledge to classroom libraries. On Tuesday, the best-selling author announced the fifth installment for his Patterson Partnership, formed in coordination with Scholastic Book Club. Patterson is giving $250 each to 4,000 teachers around the country to help...
Dismissal begins at Norwin Schools after temporary lockdown
Norwin School District began dismissing students about 3:30 p.m. Friday after an hour-long delay due to an ongoing police investigation. Tim Kotch, assistant superintendent of secondary education with the school district, said that North Huntingdon Police requested the delay due to an ongoing, active criminal investigation. However, parents were notified...
Brentwood school officials anticipate spending $21 million in facilities upgrades
Cast members from Brentwood Middle/High School’s upcoming musical “Mary Poppins” sang and danced across the stage, as large patches of wallpaper peeled off the walls inside the auditorium. There are a lot of great things happening in public schools in Brentwood, leaders told a crowd of 100 elected officials, business...
As president retires, 2 Pittsburgh trade schools merge
Rosedale Technical College in Kennedy Township and Dean Institute of Technology in West Liberty have announced they are merging, effective immediately. Rosedale, which made Forbes’ list of Top 25 Two-Year Trade Schools in 2018, will assume Dean’s students at its Kennedy campus, the schools said. The current Dean Tech location...
West Jefferson Hills revisiting field trip policy
West Jefferson Hills School District leaders are considering revamping rules for field trips to ensure students aren’t missing too much class time. Administrators have recommended revisions to the district’s field trip policy to keep them from taking students out of class for more than two days at a time. However,...
Pittsburgh schools add 2 programs for 2019-20 school year
Pittsburgh Public Schools will offer two new programs for students during the 2019-20 school year. Career and Technical Education students will be able to enter a new early childhood program at Pittsburgh Milliones. It will include instruction in growth and development, nutrition, program planning and management and other topics to...
Herkules, WCCC partner in new machinist apprenticeship program
A new apprenticeship program will link an Armstrong County machine manufacturer with Westmoreland County Community College, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday. The machinist apprenticeship, recently approved by the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Office of Apprenticeship & Training, will be based at Herkules USA Corp. in Ford City and...
On heels of scandals, USC announces new president
LOS ANGELES — The University of Southern California on Wednesday announced a new school president to usher “a new era” following a series of high-profile scandals that culminated last week with a massive college admissions bribery case. Carol Folt, former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,...
Are we alone in the universe? New Penn State center searches for answer
Is anyone out there? Or are we alone in the universe? Penn State intends to make its newly created Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center (PSETI) a global leader and worldwide hub for research aimed at answering that question. For most people, SETI - the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - conjures images of...
Cal U readies for annual robotics competition
The robots are coming, again. More than 1,000 high school students, representing 52 robotics teams, will gather at California University of Pennsylvania later this week for Destination: Deep Space, the annual Greater Pittsburgh Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. The competition on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that challenges students to build and...
Credit union offers member scholarships up to $2,000
The Westmoreland Water Federal Credit Union is seeking applications for $3,500 it will give out as part of its 2019 Founders’ Memorial Scholarship program. Applicants must be members of the credit union in good standing, and there are three scholarships available for $2,000, $1,000 and $500. Anyone who is eligible...
Robert Morris University to host open house for former Art Institute students
In a single week, students from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, who were locked out of their classrooms when the school abruptly closed, have found themselves being courted by the Community College of Allegheny County and Robert Morris University. A fixture in Pittsburgh higher education since 1921, the Art Institute...
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,...
