Education News category, Page 87
‘Conservative’ string attached to $50 million college gift
FAIRFAX, Va. — A $50 million gift made earlier this year to Virginia’s largest public university was given specifically to “promote the conservative principles of governance,” newly released documents show, raising concerns from critics that it compromises academic freedom at the school. George Mason University announced the gift earlier this...
West Jefferson Hills School District appoints 2 new principals
Two newly appointed principals in the West Jefferson Hills School District have one thing in common, leaders say: They love kids. School board members on Aug. 27 officially hired longtime Pleasant Hills Middle School educator Adam Zunic as the principal of Gill Hall Elementary, at a salary of $100,000. Zunic,...
Video: Take a look inside the new Thomas Jefferson High School
West Jefferson Hills School District officials welcomed students, parents and community members for the first public viewing of the new 300,000 square-foot Thomas Jefferson High School during an open house on Aug. 18. The school features a natatorium with an eight-lane competitive pool, a 1,400-seat gymnasium, an auxiliary gym with...
Former Pitt dean Jere Gallagher remembered as ‘beautiful inside and out’
Jere Gallagher devoted her life to caring for others, whether it was her family, her friends or her many students. As an associate dean at University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education, she spearheaded multiple initiatives to improve the lives of children and future teachers while also making sure those closest...
Heinz Field, Rivers donate smart boards to Pittsburgh Manchester PreK-8Video
Students at Manchester PreK-8 in Pittsburgh started the school year on Monday even smarter. Heinz Field, the Steelers and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh donated eight smart boards to the Pittsburgh public school. The large electronic screens, linked to a computer and operated by touch or with a special pen, cost $5,000...
Report finds Pennsylvania entry-level teachers fare well
That first day of school may have been rough, but chances are new teachers are doing comparatively better in Pennsylvania than just about anywhere else in the nation. A study by business.org that looked at average teacher starting salaries across the nation and then calculated the pay gap between that...
Schools look to novel strategies to fill substitute teacher needs
Low pay, an economy approaching full employment and dramatic decreases in enrollment in teacher education programs at colleges have produced something few ever thought they’d see in Pennsylvania: a teacher shortage, specifically a shortage of substitute teachers. Mark DiRocco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, said the...
Students welcomed to Penn Trafford school with inspirational sayingsVideo
Students at Penn Trafford’s Sunrise Elementary School were greeted with inspirational sayings written in bright colors for their first day of school Thursday. Taking about three weeks to complete over the summer, parents and Principal Karin Coiner worked to paint the stalls of four hallway bathrooms in the Sunrise Drive...
Photos: Final touches put on Kerr Elementary
Palumbo Construction is making the final upgrades to the new Kerr Elementary School on Kittanning Pike in O’Hara. Students will be welcomed Aug. 22 for the start of the school year at Fox Chapel Area School District. The $21 million building includes all new designs with a SMALLab learning space...
Chartiers Valley welcomes back students
Excitement was in the air Tuesday as the Chartiers Valley School District welcomed back students for the new school year. Children at the primary school were hugged and high-fived by teachers, staff members and school police officers who offered words of encouragement as they exited their buses or were dropped...
Parents, teachers from shuttered Evangel Heights still waiting for reimbursements
The closing of Evangel Heights Christian Academy in Buffalo Township has parents and teachers wondering when — or whether — they will get back money owed to them by the school. Most of the academy’s staff of about 15 still are awaiting paychecks, and staff and parents alike have complained...
Carlynton searching for new superintendent
The search for the next superintendent for the Carlynton School District is in full swing. The position was posted on the district’s website earlier this month, with applications being accepted until the end of August. The school board last month approved Diane Kirk, director of the Tri State Area School...
‘Short Edition’ dispenses words of wisdom at Carnegie Mellon UniversityVideo
This vending machine dispenses food for thought. “Short Edition” is based on the concept of pressing a button and, instead of drinks or snacks coming out, the user receives a story or a poem. It prints quickly. The paper is biodegradable. It’s available 24 hours a day. There is no...
Kentucky finds 1,000 teachers violated law during ‘sickouts’
FRANKFORT, Ky. — An election-year investigation into teacher rallies at Kentucky’s Capitol found more than 1,000 educators violated state law by participating in protests that shut down some schools, Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration said Friday. No penalties will be assessed, Kentucky’s labor secretary said, but he warned “the grace extended...
Gov. Wolf calls for sweeping reforms for charter schools in Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday vowed to level the playing field between Pennsylvania’s traditional public schools and charter and cyber charter schools. He said the latter lack accountability and transparency and are draining millions of dollars from struggling school districts. Calling the state’s 22-year-old public charter school law flawed and...
Mt. Pleasant teachers issue strike notice
Mt. Pleasant Area School District teachers who have been working without a contract for the last year issued a strike notice this week after failing to reach an agreement during their 15th negotiating session. The Mt. Pleasant Area Education Association, which represents 143 teachers, counselors, nurses and school psychologists, said...
Ruling could push how colleges handle sexual assault to U.S. Supreme Court
DETROIT — A ruling this past week by the federal 1st Circuit Court of Appeals could be the key to landing the issue of how universities handle sexual assaults before the U.S. Supreme Court. At the very least, the ruling pumps the brakes on the fast-moving train of judicial decisions...
Westmoreland schools getting new turf in final weeks before classesVideo
Blame it on the rain. Crews for artificial turf companies have been scrambling the past few weeks to install the rubber-based green carpet at stadiums across the area — including Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Jeannette and Norwin — before school starts. While retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back Dick Hoak and...
16-year-old earns National Merit Scholarship following freshman year at Carnegie Mellon
For Carnegie Mellon University students in the “Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science” course, it may have taken a little time to adjust to a teaching assistant two years their junior. On the other side of the equation, that 16-year-old teaching assistant, Elena Swecker of Murrysville, was also adjusting to...
Pittsburgh Diocese: St. Raphael School in Morningside will not reopen
Saint Raphael School in Pittsburgh’s Morningside neighborhood will not reopen for the 2019-2020 school year, officials with the Diocese of Pittsburgh said Saturday. The board of Pittsburgh East Regional Catholic Elementary Schools voted Friday night to recommend the school’s closure for the coming school year, board president the Rev. Kris...
Western Pa. colleges, universities named to Colleges of Distinction list
Several Western Pennsylvania colleges and universities were named to the 2019-20 Colleges of Distinction list, which helps upcoming college students navigate schools across the country based on size, cost, location, academic offering and more. Seton Hill University in Greensburg, California University of Pennsylvania in Washington County; Chatham, Duquesne, Point Park,...
Labor dispute escalates as Pitt declines to comply with subpoena
Relations between officials at the University of Pittsburgh and the leaders of a faculty union drive deteriorated this week after Pitt officials refused to comply with a sweeping subpoena from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Pitt faculty representatives filed for a union election in January, following a lengthy organizing drive...
Penn State holds the line on tuition
It may be hot outside, but there’s a slight breeze blowing for thousands of Pennsylvania families awaiting tuition bills from Penn State. Trustees Thursday voted to freeze tuition at its main campus for an unprecedented second consecutive year . The vote called for holding base undergraduate tuition for Pennsylvania residents...
North Allegheny hires veteran city schools administrator for assistant superintendent post
The North Allegheny school board has hired a veteran Pittsburgh Public Schools administrator to serve as the district’s assistant superintendent of secondary education. The board voted unanimously at its July 17 meeting to appoint Melissa Friez to the post to replace David Christopher, who has taken a job as the...
Barker named principal at Linton Middle School, other administrative changes made
Linton Middle School in Penn Hills has a new principal. The school board unanimously voted at a special meeting July 15 to have Sandra Barker lead the fifth through eighth-grade school starting next school year. “It’s a better fit,” board President Erin Vecchio said. “We have too many issues going...
