Education category, Page 47
New Kensington-Arnold introducing NoRILLA mixed-reality system to elementary schoolsVideo
A mixed-reality system is promising to shake up STEM education for New Kensington-Arnold elementary students. Through a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, the district has obtained four NoRILLA tables. Two will be kept at H.D. Berkey Elementary, while Martin and Roy A. Hunt will have one each. The name stands...
Slippery Rock’s incoming president says university is well-positioned for success
The woman poised to become Slippery Rock University’s next president said she passionately believes that education is fundamental to success in life. “It changes lives,” said Karen Riley, whose career in education has spanned nearly four decades. Currently the provost of Regis University in Denver, Riley, 60, began her career...
Pitt students gear up for March Madness game against Iowa State with cautious optimism
So, maybe it’s not full-on madness — at least not yet. But with the University of Pittsburgh’s men’s basketball team set to face Iowa State University on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Panthers fans who haven’t had a tournament win to celebrate since 2014 are...
Penn State president says cuts will be deeper than anticipated as leaders finalize layoff plans
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 our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — A Penn State administrator directed university leaders representing nearly all departments to...
Pittsburgh Public Schools nixes proposal to delay school start time on Wednesdays
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters on Wednesday said the district will not move ahead with a proposal to start school an hour later every Wednesday during the next academic year. The district had previously proposed an hour delay each Wednesday to allow more time for staff professional development. Because...
Pitt events on gender issues draw criticism, but university says it’s committed to protecting free speech
A free expression-versus-hate speech quandary looms over planned events at the University of Pittsburgh that critics contend will “advance a platform of hate and transphobia.” Pitt, however, says the events must be allowed — even if some deem them offensive. A petition that has drawn more than 7,000 signatures is...
Pitt Provost Ann Cudd leaving for Portland State University
University of Pittsburgh Provost Ann Cudd is leaving to become president of Portland State University. Leaders of the Oregon institution with 22,000 students named her Friday as the school’s 11th president, succeeding Stephen Percy, who is retiring. The appointment is effective in August after Cudd finishes up her duties in...
North Hills School District, Mark Madden announce scholarship named for Peggy Ann Madden
Listeners of Mark Madden’s popular afternoon drive sports talk show on 105.9 The X likely know how much of an influence his late mother, Peggy Ann Madden, has had on his successful professional life. In addition to inspiring her son, Peggy Ann Madden also positively influenced hundreds and hundreds of...
BotsIQ competition in Hempfield puts STEM concepts into actionVideo
Southmoreland High School senior Josef Jefferson has learned quite a bit during his time with the school’s BotsIQ team, building robots that battle in a competition among Western Pennsylvania schools. “We came up with some new ideas, and we saw a lot of bots last year that were really effective,”...
Former Pa. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to join Pitt as visiting scholar
Former Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is joining the University of Pittsburgh as a visiting scholar and adjunct professor, campus officials announced Thursday. She will work in Pitt’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security and also teach as an adjunct in the university’s School of Law. Boockvar’s work will...
Jaded with education, more Americans are skipping college
JACKSON, Tenn. — When he looked to the future, Grayson Hart always saw a college degree. He was a good student at a good high school. He wanted to be an actor, or maybe a teacher. Growing up, he believed college was the only route to a good job, stability...
Advocacy group says higher ed funding in Shapiro’s proposed budget shows ‘appalling neglect’
A Pennsylvania group that advocates for public education says it is “deeply disappointed and concerned” by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed funding support for state-owned universities in his first proposed state budget. Shapiro’s 2% increase includes neither the funding that system leaders sought to freeze tuition for a fifth straight year...
State university scholarship initiative not included in Shapiro’s budget, nor is aid sought to freeze tuition
Leaders of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities said boosting Commonwealth funding by 3.8% to $573.5 million would enable them to consider freezing tuition across the 85,000-student system for a fifth straight year this fall. But when Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled his proposed state budget for 2023-24, he included about half...
Pittsburgh to improve pedestrian safety near 3 elementary schools
Shannon Peterson drives his 6-year-old son Shannon Peterson Jr. to and from school every day so the boy doesn’t have to walk a dangerous route to his elementary school. The Petersons live close enough to Arlington PreK-8 in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood that the school is well within walking distance, but...
Many kids are struggling in school. Do their parents know?
BOSTON — Evena Joseph was unaware how much her 10-year-old son was struggling in school. She found out only with help from somebody who knows the Boston school system better than she does. Her son, J. Ryan Mathurin, wasn’t always comfortable pronouncing words in English. But Joseph, a Haitian immigrant...
In race for technology, China has a ‘sometimes stunning lead’ over the U.S.
American higher education is touted as the world’s envy, but a new report says the United States and other Western countries have fallen dangerously behind China in research that results in leading-edge technology. The world’s most populous country has amassed a “sometimes stunning lead,” says the Australian Strategic Policy Institute,...
As court debates student loans, borrowers see disconnect
WASHINGTON — Niara Thompson couldn’t shake her frustration as the Supreme Court debated President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation. As she listened from the audience Tuesday, it all felt academic. There was a long discussion on the nuances of certain words. Justices asked lawyers to explore hypothetical scenarios. For Thompson,...
State System universities propose $56.5M in scholarships to ease Pa. teacher shortage
With Gov. Josh Shapiro a week out from submitting his first proposed Commonwealth budget, the State System of Higher Education has unveiled a plan to address Pennsylvania’s worsening teaching shortage that would use some of those funds. The State System is asking to channel $56.5 million for direct financial aid...
Supreme Court appears ready to reject student loan forgivenessVideo
WASHINGTON — Conservative justices holding the Supreme Court’s majority seem ready to sink President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans. In arguments lasting more than three hours Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts led his conservative colleagues in questioning the administration’s authority...
Student loan forgiveness gets its day in court: What to know
NEW YORK — The Supreme Court is meeting Tuesday to hear two cases challenging President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. At stake: forgiveness of up to $20,000 in debt for more than 40 million Americans. Nearly half of those people could have their federal student debt wiped out entirely....
Supreme Court student loan case: The arguments explainedVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. So far, Republican-appointed judges have kept the Democratic president’s plan from going into effect, and it remains to...
Justice Thomas wrote of ‘crushing weight’ of student loans
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won’t have far to look if it wants a personal take on the “crushing weight” of student debt that underlies the Biden administration’s college loan forgiveness plan. Justice Clarence Thomas was in his mid-40s and in his third year on the nation’s highest court when...
University of Pittsburgh provost is finalist for presidency at Portland State
University of Pittsburgh Provost Ann Cudd is one of two finalists for the presidency of Portland State University. Trustees at the public institution in Portland, OR. with 22,000 students met this week and have entered a negotiation phase, a confidential process typically lasting two to six weeks before a new...
Unionized Pitt faculty members protest pace of contract talks
About 200 University of Pittsburgh faculty members represented by the United Steelworkers rallied outside Friday’s board of trustees meeting to protest the pace of negotiations aimed at securing the union’s first labor pact there. Chanting at times as they held up signs that read “Fair Pay = Emotional Well-Being,” the...
Construction of $40M workforce center proceeds on CCAC’s North Side campus
The timing seemed right in November 2019 when the Community College of Allegheny County announced an ambitious workforce development initiative that included building a multi-story academic hall and expanding programming to steer more students into high-demand fields. The areas of study slated for the new Workforce Development and Training Center...
