Education category, Page 38
Just shy 4 years ago, another graduate worker union drive has begun at the University of Pittsburgh
Last time, they came close — as in 39 votes shy in an election to secure union representation. Now, four years later, more than 2,000 graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh, including teaching and research assistants, are vying anew to join the United Steelworkers. A card-signing campaign initiated...
Schools’ pandemic spending boosted tech companies. Did it help U.S. students?
WASHINGTON — As soon as the federal pandemic relief started arriving at America’s schools, so did the relentless calls. Tech companies by the dozens wanted a chance to prove their software was what schools needed. Best of all, they often added, it wouldn’t take a dime from district budgets: Schools...
Toddlers with developmental delays are missing out on help they need. It can hurt them long term
CHICAGO — Alexander watches Paw Patrol with fervor, bowls his baby brother over with hugs and does everything with gusto. What the 3-year-old West Chicago toddler can’t do yet is speak more than a few words. His balance is wobbly and he isn’t able to let his preschool teachers know...
Seton Hill students target Greensburg’s empty storefronts as part of regional initiative
If Greensburg eventually finds a way to fill vacant storefronts in downtown, the city may have three Seton Hill students to thank. Jake Starek, 20, of Harrison City is one of the trio at Seton Hill University participating in an initiative designed to study the potential for a health care...
New Kensington’s Digital Foundry gets $200K infusion to boost manufacturing industry skills
A representative of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration kicked off the state’s Manufacturing Week on Friday with a visit to downtown New Kensington. Gwen Ross, director of workforce development initiatives with the state Department of Community and Economic Development, was at the Digital Foundry at New Kensington for what she said...
The Kiski School will welcome girls after 136 years of all-boys boarding school education
For the first time in its 136-year history, The Kiski School — an all-boys private boarding school in Saltsburg — will welcome girls in fall 2024. Head of School Christopher Brueningsen said the decision was an emotional one, but he believes it is the right one when looking toward growth...
Penn State suspends fraternity over alleged hazing incident
A Penn State University fraternity has been suspended for four years following an investigation into an alleged hazing incident. The sanction imposed on the Delta Theta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity runs through fall 2027. Details of the incident were not released by the university. The fraternity chapter was...
Hempfield Area School District committees to discuss high school renovation finances
Members of Hempfield Area School District’s buildings and grounds and finance committees will discuss the financial situation of the stalled high school renovation project tonight. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the administration building, 4347 Route 136. It will feature presentations from the district’s business manager, bond counsel...
Pitt names Marnie Oakley as new dental school dean
The University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday named Marnie Oakley as its new dean of the School of Dental Medicine. Oakley is a doctor of dental medicine, educator and administrator who has held positions at Pitt for almost three decades, most recently as the dental school’s interim dean. A national search...
Three juveniles charged, security heightened after gun-passing incident at Hempfield high school
Hempfield Area High School students on Tuesday were met by a robust police presence and handheld metal detectors — a response to guns being found at school a day earlier, and three 15-year-old students have been charged in connection with the incident. Lines stretched across the gym and around the...
Pa. court says state-owned universities violated pact by cutting faculty without discussion beforehand
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court has issued a split opinion in a case with implications for faculty cuts imposed at 10 state-owned universities since 2021 and any future professor layoffs. In an opinion that partly affirmed an arbitrator’s earlier decision, the court said Friday that the State System of Higher Education failed...
Police: 3 Hempfield high school students caught passing handguns, prompting lockdown
Three 15-year-old male students passed two loaded handguns — a .38-caliber and a .22-caliber — on a Hempfield Area High School bus and at the school Monday, state police said. Students who witnessed the exchanges contacted school administrators, who alerted state police about 11:40 a.m. The school was put in...
Federal student loan payments are starting again. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — Federal student loan borrowers will need to start making payments again this month after a three-year-plus pause due to the pandemic. You should expect a bill that lays out how much you have to pay each month at least 21 days before your due date. It’s likely...
Pitt trustees OK $100 million in campus renovations
University of Pittsburgh trustees on Friday elected a new chairman, received their first full report from Chancellor Joan Gabel on university progress and approved $100 million in campus building renovation projects. Board members meeting in the William Pitt Union in Oakland also encountered protests. They ranged from a boisterous but...
Penn Township, Greensburg natives will receive awards from Pitt-Greensburg
Scott Szypulski and Myron Jones II will receive awards from the Pitt-Greensburg Alumni Association on Saturday. Their reaction? “It’s full-circle.” Szypulski, of Oakland, grew up in Penn Township and graduated from Pitt-Greensburg in 2014. Jones, of Washington, Pa., spent his high school years in Greensburg and attended Westminster College for...
Want to translate a German letter or document? Bethel Park Historical Society can help
Information contained in German hand-written letters and documents will be explored at “Unlock Your History: Germans to America,” an event that is part of the Bethel Park Historical Society’s Lecture Series. Held in collaboration with the Senator Heinz History Center in the Strip District, the event is on German American...
PennWest University unveils its plan to seek a new president
PennWest University announced that it is embarking on a search for a successor to president Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, who stepped away from the job in February, effective immediately. “When I say embark, I mean we’re at the very, very beginning stages. We will communicate more as we go along,” PennWest Council...
For millions, the return of federal student loan payments brings angst
Marin Exler, who grew up in Crafton, held no illusions that her college education would be free, nor did she procrastinate paying down the debt of almost $120,000 that she incurred at Case Western Reserve University. She worked multiple campus jobs, made bigger-than-required loan payments after graduating, refinanced double-digit interest...
Art show, blood drive part of Pitt-Greensburg Blue & Gold activities
Members of the public are invited to enjoy a showcase of regional art and are encouraged to roll up their sleeves to give the gift of life during the annual Blue & Gold Celebration this week at the Pitt-Greensburg campus. The American Red Cross will conduct a public blood drive...
North Allegheny School District 1 of only 20 in state offering Seal of Biliteracy
North Allegheny School District is one of two local school districts that offered the Pennsylvania Seal of Biliteracy program in the Pittsburgh region last school year, honoring its students who attain an intermediate to high proficiency in English and one other world language. North Allegheny and Hampton Township school districts...
Hempfield to seek bids for outside professional to navigate delayed high school project
Hempfield Area School District is a step closer to hiring an outside professional to oversee its stymied $150 million high school renovation, one of the first public steps forward since the project ground to a halt this summer. The school board this week approved advertising for possible candidates for an...
7 months after PennWest president announced departure, the search for a successor has yet to begin
Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson announced in February that she was leaving PennWest University’s presidency, but in the seven months since, Western Pennsylvania’s largest state-owned university has yet to begin seeking a permanent successor. Now, the person serving as its interim president, R. Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky, could be poised to leave too. State...
‘He’s just one of those kids’: Pitt student balances heart research, academics, hockey
Ben Leslie works in a Pitt heart research lab while maintaining a full academic load. In his time off? He serves as a captain for the university’s varsity hockey team. Leslie, a 2019 Penn-Trafford graduate, used to doubt there was enough time in the day to pursue all of his...
University of Pittsburgh says it’s willing to freeze in-state tuition in 2024-25 — if it gets a larger state subsidy
The University of Pittsburgh says it’s willing to freeze in-state tuition for the 2024-25 academic year, provided the state delivers a larger-than-usual state appropriation that year: a 9.25% increase. The dollar request was conveyed to state officials in a letter of intent Friday. An in-state freeze would apply to thousands...
New leader of Penn State branch campuses tasked with boosting enrollment
The linguist and administrator who will oversee Penn State University’s 20 branch campuses starting Oct. 1 has talked about their importance as educational game-changers for students and economic anchors for the communities in which they’re located. Margo DelliCarpini also has seen how competitive the higher-education market can be when it...
