Education News category, Page 70
School districts re-examine attendance policies amid new educational model
School districts throughout the region are asking families to act with an abundance of caution when it comes to students exhibiting potential covid-19 symptoms. If a student is showing any of the 13 symptoms closely associated with the virus, districts are asking parents to keep them home. That didn’t work...
Paris Hilton protest calls for closure of Utah school
PROVO, Utah — Paris Hilton has been speaking out about abuse she said she suffered at a boarding school in Utah, and on Friday she took her push nearly to the school’s front doors. Hilton organized a protest in a park near Provo Canyon School, along with several hundreds of...
Duquesne University fires professor who used racial slur in class
Duquesne University on Wednesday fired an education professor for “serious misconduct” less than a month after suspending him for his use of a racial slur in a virtual lecture related to race. “We have 30 days to grieve the termination and certainly will do so,” Warner Mariani, attorney for the...
Clorox develops device for classrooms to detect ‘illness indicators’Video
The Clorox Co. said today it has developed an experimental device to be used in school classrooms that can detect “illness indicators” in real time. “Each year, schools face the challenge of preventing one cough or sneeze from turning into a cold or flu outbreak. For schools that have decided...
Fort Allen Elementary School closes after 2 positive coronavirus cases
Fort Allen Elementary School is closed until Oct. 13 after two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Hempfield Area School District Superintendent Tammy Wolicki. The district learned Monday about the positive cases. State department of education guidelines say that if between two and four staff members in...
Oct. 2: Here is covid-19 data from Western Pa. colleges
Western Pennsylvania is home 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: Approximately 35,000 students Number of new cases: There were 24 new...
Several floors of Pitt residence hall in quarantine after covid increase
The University of Pittsburgh is investigating an increase in covid-19 cases in Litchfield Tower B, a residence hall in Oakland. Between Sept. 23 and Oct. 2, nine cases were reported in the building, said Pat McMahon, a university spokesman. McMahon told The Pitt News the university is still investigating whether...
Point Park University president to retire next summer
After more than 20 years, Point Park’s president is leaving the university. Paul Hennigan notified the Board of Trustees that he will retire in summer 2021, the university announced Monday. “The Board is deeply grateful to Dr. Hennigan for 16 years of outstanding leadership as president of the university,” Chairman...
Lawsuit targets Point Park University for forced-online spring semester
Four undergraduate students at Point Park University are suing the school, claiming that they are entitled to refunds for a subpar education in the spring when classes moved from in-person instruction to remote learning because of the covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit includes claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment...
Western Pa. organizations see uptick in tutoring demands in wake of pandemic
As parents help their children navigate through online learning in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, many are turning to tutoring sites for homework help. Locally, organizations offering tutoring services have seen an increased demand as students traverse an ever-changing landscape with districts reopening in person, virtually or through hybrid...
Duquesne University reports 13 new covid cases in a day
Duquesne University has confirmed 30 cases of covid-19 on campus this semester – nearly half of which occurred Thursday in what officials called a “focused increase.” The university recorded 13 new cases among students in one day this week, marking the highest daily total for campus cases this semester. An...
Student tests positive for covid-19 at St. Bede School in Pittsburgh
A first-grade student at St. Bede School in Point Breeze has tested positive for the coronavirus, the school said Friday in an email message, and Director of Catholic Schools Michelle Peduto said. All first-graders at the school will learn virtually for the next 14 days, Peduto said. The school has...
Freeport Area High School receives National Blue Ribbon School distinction
Freeport Area High School has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Blue Ribbon School distinction recognizes top public and non-public schools annually. Freeport Area High School was one of 367 schools nationwide to earn the title for this year. Principal...
Pivik Elementary in Plum to close for 2 weeks after a staffer tests positive for covid-19
Plum School District’s Pivik Elementary students will be learning remotely for at least two weeks after a staffer tested positive for covid-19. District officials sent a letter to families Wednesday informing them of the discovery and subsequent changes. The letter from Pivik Principal Kristen Gestrich states the staffer was in...
Resorts to RV parks: Parents take school year on the road
NEW YORK — In RVs, rental homes and five-star resorts, families untethered by the constraints of physical classrooms for their kids have turned the new school year into an extended summer vacation, some lured by the ailing hotel industry catering to parents with remote learners through “roadschooling” amenities. With the...
West Virginia University students return to in-person classes
Students at West Virginia University returned to in-person classes Monday, after a three-week hiatus. The university had halted in-person learning Sept. 7 when the campus encountered a significant spike in covid-19 cases. In late August and early September, there were several days the percent of covid-19 tests with positive results...
Pittsburgh Public Schools extends remote work 5 weeks for teachers, 2 days for students
Teachers at Pittsburgh Public Schools will work remotely an additional five weeks, the district and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers announced Friday night in a joint statement. The school board voted in late July to maintain remote learning for the first nine weeks of the school year, but teachers were...
Sex ed mandate sparks bitter Washington state ballot fight
SEATTLE — Democrats in the Washington state Legislature thought they had passed a routine sex education requirement for public schools earlier this year. But a coalition of Republicans and religious conservatives launched a swift, historic backlash that’s led to a bitter partisan fight and an effort to overturn the measure...
Here is covid-19 data from Western Pa. colleges
Western Pennsylvania is home 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: Approximately 35,000 students Number of new cases: There were 26 new...
Schools find ways to cope with substitute teacher shortage in age of coronavirus
Local schools are bracing for what could be a year filled with teacher vacancies as covid-19 potentially amplifies a yearslong substitute teacher shortage. Districts scrambling to find day-to-day substitutes during a typical school year now might have to work twice as hard to retain those positions as fears of returning...
Officials: Covid cases at Pitt are going down, for now
Cases of covid-19 at the University of Pittsburgh appear to be leveling out as students start returning to in-person class, but university officials say it’s too soon to loosen restrictions. While the university has one of the highest total case counts of any institution in the area, the last two...
Mother petitions Deer Lakes to go to in-school instruction 5 days a week
A mother whose three children go to school in Deer Lakes School District has started a petition asking district officials to reinstate in-person instruction five days a week. Traci Stotler, who mounted a petition drive on Change.org, said it’s not physically, mentally or emotionally healthy for young, developing children to...
Woodland Hills pushes back in-person classes another month
The Woodland Hills School District has pushed back the start of in-person classes for another month, district officials said this week. Superintendent James P. Harris wrote in a letter to parents on Tuesday the in-person return hinges on data from Johns Hopkins University. Students can return to school once data...
Pittsburgh school district will review, publicize school police arrest data
Pittsburgh Public Schools is taking new measures to analyze and address school police data. The district this week approved a proposal by Superintendent Anthony Hamlet to conduct an external investigation into data pertaining to school arrests, citations and out-of-school suspensions. The data will be sorted into characteristics like gender, race...
Pennsylvania colleges take a hit in undergraduate enrollment
A new national survey of fall college enrollment trends by the National Student Clearinghouse found the impact of covid-19 and a shrinking pool of new high school graduates has left its mark on Pennsylvania colleges. The survey based on preliminary numbers from about 22% of the nation’s colleges and universities,...
