Education News category, Page 19
Hempfield Area to tackle 1 of 3 roof replacements, test pool ahead of high school renovation
As Hempfield Area moves forward with a nearly $281,000 roof repair at Fort Allen Elementary, the district also plans to address projected million dollar roof projects at two of its other schools next summer. The school board voted Monday to hire Garland Company Inc. to replace the roof covering Fort...
‘Polarization’ is Merriam-Webster’s 2024 word of the year
The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific...
Westinghouse Academy students celebrated for academic achievements, resilience
On a recent bitter cold Friday, the Westinghouse Academy in Homewood was full of warmth. An assembly, All Lives Matter to Do the Right Thing, presented by Help the Needy Not the Greedy and The Youth Project Inc., honored students for their academic accomplishments and added sparkle to their holiday...
Penn State trustees pass almost 85% of measures without a single dissenting vote
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. When...
Greensburg Salem approves $68K contract to upgrade sound systems in high school gym, auditorium
Greensburg Salem will spend nearly $68,000 to upgrade sound systems in the high school gym and auditorium. The current systems are antiquated and unreliable, Superintendent Ken Bissell said. “There are times where kids onstage are singing or saying their lines and it cuts out,” Bissell said of the auditorium system....
Botched FAFSA rollout, state upgrades mean college students are still waiting for critical grant money
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The money for the fall semester normally arrives in September. By the last week of November, with the end of the semester in...
Inauguration set for Jon Anderson as 2nd PennWest University president
Jon Anderson will be formally installed as Pennsylvania Western University’s second president in a Dec. 6 ceremony on the university’s California campus. The inauguration ceremony is set for 2 p.m. in Steele Hall’s Mainstage Theatre. The event will be livestreamed at pennwest.edu/inauguration, with watch parties planned in the Gemmell Student...
Quaker Valley joins Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month program to provide students special meals with local produce
Quaker Valley School District students this school year are getting a special meal made from scratch each month as part of a program designed to promote local agriculture and educate young folks about what they eat. The district has joined in the Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month program. It was...
Pitt graduate workers unionize in landslide vote
Graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh have voted in a landslide to unionize with the United Steelworkers after years of organizing and rising pro-labor sentiment in academia. More than 97% of eligible voters went for a union just over a year after organizers kicked off their card campaign....
Sewickley Academy student nurtures campus greenhouse after growing hiatus
Emma Ehan of Sewickley is using her green thumb to dig into an ongoing horticultural project at Sewickley Academy. Ehan, a junior, loves to garden and tend to plants and now she’s using her skills to manage and tend to the dozens of plants growing inside the campus greenhouse. “My...
Penn State trustees rarely discuss key issues in public before voting
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. When...
Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools under optional new curriculum that could test boundaries between religion and public classrooms in the U.S. The material adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, passed in a...
Pitt chancellor visits Johnstown campus, meets with students, faculty, local leaders
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel visited the university’s Johnstown campus Tuesday for the first time since she stepped into the role about a year and a half ago. The 19th chancellor in Pitt’s 237-year history, Gabel oversees more than 34,000 students and 16,000 faculty and staff members across five...
Trump has called for dismantling the Education Department. Here’s what that would mean
WASHINGTON — Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump heaped scorn on the federal Department of Education, describing it as being infiltrated by ”radicals, zealots and Marxists.” He has picked Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive, to lead the department. But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has called for...
Need for English as Second Language education growing in Westmoreland schools
Westmoreland County’s ever-diversifying population is having an impact in public schools, where a growing number of students do not speak English as a native language and educators are facing increased demands as they to try to help bridge the language gap. “The number of English Learners (students whose native language...
Trump wants to end ‘wokeness’ in education. He has vowed to use federal money as leverage
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s vision for education revolves around a single goal: to rid America’s schools of perceived ” wokeness ” and “left-wing indoctrination.” The president-elect wants to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports. He wants to forbid classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism. He wants to...
Human relations commission seeks additional feedback on harassment, bullying guidelines
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is seeking feedback as it develops guidelines to address bullying and harassment in schools. The commission released an initial draft of proposed guidelines on Aug. 8. “In August we received more than 70 public comments on our harassment in education guidance,” said commission Executive Director...
Trump’s win brings uncertainty to borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness
Savannah Britt owes about $27,000 on loans she took out to attend college at Rutgers University, a debt she was hoping to see reduced by President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts. Her payments are currently on hold while courts untangle challenges to the loan forgiveness program. But as the...
Penn State greenlights $96M classroom project as 1st-year students set to spike
Penn State University trustees Friday approved a $96 million classroom development at University Park to accommodate expected first-year enrollment growth approaching 1,000 students over the next several years. The project is the largest of the planned work totaling almost $325 million on the main campus and at Penn State Harrisburg...
‘We need to hear their stories’: Seton Hill to host Holocaust education conference for K-12 teachers
Seton Hill will host a conference next week to support local educators teaching the Holocaust. Scheduled for Sunday through Wednesday, the conference will focus on telling the stories of individuals involved in the Holocaust, said James Paharik — director of the university’s National Catholic Center of Holocaust Education. The center...
Pennsylvania faculty union joins national AFT
The union representing more than 5,000 faculty and coaches across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities is the latest to affiliate with AFT, a nationwide union of education and other workers. Members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties approved the affiliation in a three-day election last week. It...
‘Those lost lives can help prevent future lost lives’: Western Pa. schools are rethinking security, experts say
Door locks. Secure entrances. Ballistic window film. Security cameras. Metal detectors. As threats and incidents of violence become more common at schools across the country, educators are seeking out building upgrades to enhance student safety. But to school safety and security expert Aaron Skrbin, talking is the more important first...
New State Board of Higher Education names its executive director
The newly created State Board of Higher Education, tasked with re-imaging oversight of Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities, has named Kate Shaw as executive director. Shaw is deputy secretary for Higher Education within the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She has a decades-long career in government, the private sector and in academia...
Pennsylvania colleges restrict student voter outreach, free speech groups say
Setting up a table on a college campus to encourage voter turnout or promote a political candidate are time-honored student expressions of free speech, as is canvassing door-to-door before an election. But in Pennsylvania, those campus activities have received pushback from a number of school administrators this fall, free speech...
Penn State now the home of the U.S. Supreme Court online database
Legal scholars, political scientists and others simply curious about how the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution since its founding can now turn to Penn State University for answers. That’s because the nation’s high court – more precisely, its online database of cases dating to 1791 — has moved...
