Education News category, Page 57
Pittsburgh Public Schools adds more buildings to weeklong remote learning
Five more Pittsburgh Public Schools will move to remote learning through the end of the week, bringing the number of schools to 14 that will be closed for in-person learning because of staffing shortages. The district added Arsenal 6-8, Liberty PreK-5, Manchester PreK-8, South Hills 6-8 and Whittier PreK-5, saying...
Some Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings go remote because of staffing shortages
Students in 12 Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings learned remotely Monday because of covid-related staffing shortages. An alert posted to the district’s website said students would have livestreamed lessons at the following schools:Allegheny PreK-5.Carrick High School.Crescent Early Childhood Center.Greenfield PreK-8.Liberty PreK-5.Lincoln PreK-5.Montessori PreK-5.Morrow PreK-8.Perry High School.Phillips PreK-5.Weil PreK-5.Whittier PreK-5. A covid-19...
Slippery Rock program for students with intellectual disabilities offers Greensburg woman chance to thrive
Lizzie Ammons had fought too hard to let the prospect of college slip from her grasp when word began circulating that Slippery Rock University might shutter its Rock Life program — one of about 300 college programs across the nation for students with intellectual disabilities. Ammons, 21, of Greensburg was...
Penn State announces in-person spring semester classes despite omicron
Despite covid-19 surging throughout the country, and with health experts warning of challenging weeks ahead, Penn State announced Thursday night that it will start the spring semester in person, as planned, because it feels it can do so “safely but carefully.” Still, according to the university, conditions around University Park...
University of Pittsburgh issues shelter-in-place request, required covid testing for students
The University of Pittsburgh’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office has released a plan for the spring semester that includes a phased move-in beginning Jan. 8 along with a shelter-in-place request and testing for students. Pitt will make available one covid-19 test through Quest Diagnostics for all of the approximately 34,000 students...
Grads tasted a life without student debt, but that’s set to end next year
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In the mornings, before she starts work at her software development job, St. Petersburg’s Amanda Leaders sits down with coffee and thinks about whom to send a postcard. The hobby began in September when she noticed a sale at Vistaprint. She ordered a set of postcards...
Franklin Regional receives grant to expand annual Science Olympiad for elementary, middle-school students
Franklin Regional elementary teachers will be up-sizing their annual Science Olympiad in 2022 with the help of a $2,500 grant from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh. “We were able to establish an elementary and middle school Science Olympiad program in partnership with the SSP,” said fourth grade teacher Megan Melucci....
Peduto Chief of Staff Dan Gilman to take on new role at Duquesne University
Dan Gilman, who served as Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief of staff, announced Monday that he will be taking on a new role at Duquesne University when Peduto leaves office in January. Gilman will serve as a senior advisor to Duquesne University President Ken Gormley and will move into the chief...
Penn State says omicron could lead to remote learning in spring semester
As Penn State University officials monitor the spread of the omicron variant, they are urging those in the University Park campus community to prepare to work remotely next semester. Penn State is planning to begin the spring semester in person. But with local covid-19 hospitalizations at an all-time high and...
Leechburg Area School District to take closer look at student emails via Google service
Leechburg Area School District officials plan to take a closer look at student emails. District technology director Katie Robson said the district will be looking for safety concerns such as online predators, adult content, cyber bullying, drug use, depression, suicidal thoughts and more. Katie Robson said administrators will use a...
Pitt launches teacher prep program amid growing shortage of teachers
No one can remember exactly when the University of Pittsburgh last offered an undergraduate degree in education. But officials at Pitt say it is high time for a change. They recently announced the university, which boasts a robust graduate school of education, will open a new bachelor’s program in education...
Diocese of Pittsburgh announces Central Catholic alum will return to school as principal
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has announced a Central Catholic alumnus will be the school’s next principal. Brother Michael Andrejko, FSC, has been named the next principal of the school in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, formally beginning in the position on July 1. A brother for more than 30 years, Andrejko...
Pa. Supreme Court upholds lower court decision throwing out mask mandate
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a lower court ruling that the state’s acting secretary of health did not have the authority to issue a mandatory mask mandate for schools in August. The ruling ends the mandate effective immediately. Going forward, school districts can implement their own masking policies...
Penn State names 1st woman university president
When Neeli Bendapudi takes the reins as Penn State’s 19th president on July 1, officials hope her broad portfolio will help her boost the university’s struggling regional campuses. Penn State’s board of trustees capped a 10 month national search Thursday with a unanimous vote to appoint Bendapudi, who has served...
Pitt continues to sort through vaccine mandate
Officials at the University of Pittsburgh aren’t saying how many students, faculty and staff are facing ouster for failure to meet today’s deadline to provide proof of covid-19 vaccination or an approved exemption. Unlike officials at Excela Health System and UPMC who have temporarily put their vaccine mandates on hold,...
How, and when, to talk to your kids about school safety
As school threats appear on the news and social media, parents may feel prompted to talk with their children about the topic. The handling and subject of such conversations depend on the child’s age, said Amber Sparrow, a professional counselor who works at UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics in Monroeville. Sparrow...
Schools across Western Pa., U.S. try to keep students safe in face of increased threats
A barrage of threats against several school districts across the region — including Allegheny County this week and Westmoreland several weeks ago — sent administrators reaching for action plans to help thwart any potential danger to students and staff. Violence at schools is spiking as students return to in-person classes...
Reach Cyber partners with carpenters’ union to offer online carpentry programVideo
In recent years, school districts have made a stronger push to gauge student interest in trade careers, extolling the virtues of the region’s technical schools and the wide-open job market for skilled laborers. In Pennsylvania, one cyber charter school is looking to add some of those elements to its curriculum....
West Mifflin High School switches to remote learning after threat
Students at West Mifflin Area High School learned remotely on Wednesday after the district was targeted by an online threat. Superintendent Jeffrey Soles said the threat did not appear to be credible, but the district opted to keep students at home out of caution. West Mifflin police are investigating the...
Faculty retirements at Pa. state universities are double the number of a typical year
Nearly half of the 165 faculty members who signed up for its most recent incentive to retire by next summer work at a Pennsylvania state university slated for consolidation in the 2022-23 school year. Figures provided by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education show 50 of those faculty members who...
Social media threats prompt switch to remote learning at Propel Schools in Pittsburgh
The 13 Propel Schools throughout Pittsburgh will switch to remote learning Tuesday after threats were posted on social media, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. School leaders alerted families that the move was made from “an abundance of caution.” Administrators said initially that Propel Hazelwood and Propel Montour would go...
Highlands broadens curriculum to bolster career readiness; decreases graduation credit requirement
Highlands High School seniors will need slightly fewer credits to graduate in coming years. The school board on Nov. 15 approved a motion to reduce the credit requirements from 24.5 to 24, beginning with the 2022-23 school year. Highlands already requires more than the state minimum of 21 credits to...
Threat prompts Woodland Hills to take high school classes virtual
Woodland Hills High School students participated in classes virtually Friday because of a threat made against the school, according to a message from its principal. In a Facebook post Friday morning, Principal Shelly Manns said that officials on Thursday night received a screenshot of an individual who had made a...
New laws steer some teachers away from race-related topics
New measures that restrict how race is addressed in classrooms have spread confusion and anxiety among many educators, who in some cases have begun pulling books and canceling lessons for fear of being penalized. Education officials have nixed a contemporary issues class in a Tennessee district, removed Frederick Douglass’ autobiography...
Students, staff at Greensburg Salem Middle School move to remote learning
Greensburg Salem middle schoolers are moving to remote learning for almost two weeks following a spike in covid-19 cases, district officials said. According to Kenneth Bissell, acting superintendent, the spike caused the 14 day total of positive cases to rise to about 5% of the total student and faculty body....
