Education category, Page 68
Schools’ Thanksgiving lessons jettison Pilgrim hats, welcome truth
BOSTON — A friendly feast shared by the plucky Pilgrims and their native neighbors? That’s yesterday’s Thanksgiving story. Students in many U.S. schools are now learning a more complex lesson that includes conflict, injustice and a new focus on the people who lived on the land for hundreds of years...
A look inside schools’ reopening decisions
Gary Peiffer was “cautiously optimistic” at the beginning of this school year. The superintendent of Greensburg Salem School District felt ready for the district’s planned hybrid model. Federal CARES Act funds had been used to purchase laptops, cleaning materials and plastic barriers. Teachers had gone through training for new remote...
Nov. 20: Here is covid-19 data from select Western Pa. colleges
Western Pennsylvania is home community to several colleges and universities, attracting students from around the state and country. During the coronavirus pandemic, many are tracking the number of positive covid-19 cases as they emerge on campus. University of Pittsburgh Enrollment: About 30,000 students Number of new cases: There were 98...
Pittsburgh schools’ Westinghouse Academy to close after 1 student, 2 staffers contract covid-19
Westinghouse Academy will close until Dec. 1 because a student and two staffers tested positive this week for covid-19, Pittsburgh Public Schools officials said. All three people last were at the campus on Friday, Nov. 13, according todistrict spokeswoman Ebony Pugh. The school, located on Murtland Street in Pittsburgh’s Homewood...
Region’s international student enrollment declined with global pandemic
A flood of international students who fueled growth at the region’s colleges and universities for the last decade is waning in the face of the global pandemic. Fall enrollment numbers show international enrollment at nine local universities and Penn State declined by about 2,500, or approximately 12%, this fall as...
Westmoreland, Allegheny tech schools get grants for new equipment
Two Westmoreland County career and technology centers and another in Allegheny County will update their educational equipment with the help of state grants. The Department of Education this week awarded nearly $1.2 million in competitive matching grants to 32 such centers across the state, and to two school districts, for...
Westmoreland County Community College and IUP ink dual admissions deal
Students at Westmoreland County Community College who plan to complete a four-year degree after finishing work on an associate degree can tap a new dual admissions program with Indiana University of Pennsylvania. An agreement the two institutions inked Wednesday outlines terms of the new program, designed to streamline the transfer...
Report outlines struggles of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ tech distribution during pandemic
A report shared Wednesday by City Controller Michael Lamb lends more detail into how devices and internet are being provided in Pittsburgh Public Schools amid online learning. The controller’s audit report reflects the results of an investigation requested by the school board following an August meeting. According to the report,...
Clarion president hopeful universities merger reduces tuition by 25%
The university leader tasked with overseeing the merger plan for California, Clarion and Edinboro says she is confident her group can reduce students’ costs at the state-owned universities by 25%. Experts say the cost reduction will be a heavy lift as colleges and universities across the nation face a new...
Blackburn Center continues student outreach through videos, virtual lessonsVideo
The Blackburn Center is going virtual this year to ensure programs offered at districts across Westmoreland County are still available to students. Over the summer, members of the Greensburg nonprofit began filming videos to teach kids about topics like bullying, dating violence and sexual harassment. The videos are available to...
Kiski Area now allowing 4 days of in-person learning
Schools across the region are shutting their doors, but Kiski Area School District is increasing face-to-face instruction time. The district began offering a hybrid option this week that allows for four days of in-person instruction with one day of remote learning. This option is available in addition to the district’s...
Feds reject Pa.’s plan to spend up to $300M in stimulus money for property tax relief
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For more than a decade, state lawmakers have sent yearly payments to Pennsylvania’s school districts so they can lower...
Edinboro University president announces departure amid merger study
Just 16 months after assuming office, Guiyou Huang, president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, announced Monday that he is leaving in January to become president of Western Illinois University. Huang’s departure comes as officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education work on the second phase of a study...
Nov. 13: Here is covid-19 data from selected Western Pa. colleges
Western Pennsylvania is home community to several colleges and universities, attracting students from around the state and country. During the coronavirus pandemic, many are tracking the number of positive covid-19 cases as they emerge on campus. University of Pittsburgh Enrollment: About 30,000 students New cases: There were 118 student cases...
Kiski Area High School to close next week over covid concerns
Kiski Area High School will move to fully remote learning next week, following reports of seven cases of covid-19 among students and staff. The district said the school would follow a remote learning schedule from Monday through next Friday. Career Center Students will still report on days they’re scheduled to...
Pittsburgh Public Schools returning to all remote instruction next week
Pittsburgh Public Schools will close all school buildings and return to fully remote instruction next week, district officials confirmed. The district had reopened for in-person instruction — for a small number of students — on Nov. 9. Those students included those with special needs and English learners. The majority of...
Anti-mask protest disrupts Utah school district meeting
PROVO, Utah — School district officials in northern Utah have said a public meeting in American Fork was disrupted by protesters who characterized the use of masks and facial coverings in schools “child abuse.” Alpine School District Superintendent Assistant Kimberly Bird said the protesters were welcome to participate in the...
Appeals court clears Harvard of racial bias in admissions
BOSTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling clearing Harvard University of discrimination against Asian American applicants. Two judges on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected claims from an anti-affirmative action group that accuses the Ivy League University of imposing a “racial penalty”...
Hempfield officials reworking middle school surveys prior to full return
Hempfield Area School District officials are modifying surveys sent to middle school parents after several people expressed interest in keeping with the hybrid model. Responses to the surveys, sent out at the end of October, will be used to determine how many students will make a full return to the...
Pitt students react to shifting guidelines, shelter-in-place
As the University of Pittsburgh tightens covid-19 restrictions amid rising infection levels, some students say they aren’t all that surprised. “All of this is unfortunate but not completely unexpected,” said Eric Macadangdang, a senior Pitt student and president of the student government. “But it’s completely necessary.” The university moved its...
Kiski Area High School reports another coronavirus case
A student at Kiski Area High School tested positive for coronavirus, the school district said Friday. The high school will remain open. According to a letter to district families, the Department of Health was contacted and is identifying close contacts of the student. Kiski Area reported at least seven infections...
Convention centers, museums become classrooms amid pandemic
MISSION, Kan. — In ordinary times, the airy convention center on a 61-acre site in Hesston, Kansas, hosts weddings, corporate retreats and church events. During the pandemic, it has become a schoolhouse for the district’s seventh- and eighth-graders. Megan Kohlman teaches literature and writing inside one of the rooms, separated...
NSF grant will help STEM programming in Pittsburgh, Baltimore
A $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help leaders in Baltimore and Pittsburgh work to develop new STEM learning programs at their recreation centers. The grant, awarded to the Baltimore-based Digital Harbor Foundation, will help the foundation build on its programs in the cities. Science, technology, engineering...
Westmoreland officials deciding fate of 4K questionable ballots; 3,600 provisional ballots to be counted Friday
Westmoreland County elections officials on Thursday night continued to individually review by hand 4,000 potentially defective mail-in ballots that were set aside earlier this week. Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said it appears most of those ballots looked at so far have been approved for counting with only a small...
2 more covid-19 cases reported at Hempfield Area High School
Two coronavirus cases were reported at Hempfield Area High School this week, district officials said. According to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, one high school teacher and one student tested positive for the virus. Those who were determined to have been in close contact with the infected individuals were contacted by the...
