Education News category, Page 9
Pa. joins lawsuit against Trump over frozen funds for after-school, summer programs
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — More than 20 states, including Pennsylvania, have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over billions of dollars in frozen funding for after-school and summer programs and other programs. About 1.4 million children and teenagers around the country have been attending after-school and summer programming at a Boys...
Pitt approves tuition and fee increases for fall term, lifts hiring freeze
Tuition for students at the University of Pittsburgh will increase again. The $3.2 billion budget, approved Friday by the Board of Trustees, includes a 2% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate and gradate students attending the Oakland campus, a 4% hike for out-of-state students and a 1% increase for students attending...
Head Start will be cut off for immigrants without legal status, Trump administration says
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will restrict immigrants in the country illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. The move is part of a broad effort to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants who lack legal...
Here’s the backstory to the tradition of The Fence at Carnegie Mellon
In the early hours before sunrise, a group of Carnegie Mellon University students once again gave a fresh coat of paint to The Fence, one of the campus’s most beloved and recognizable landmarks. The final brushstrokes served as the beginning of what is expected to be a long week for...
Trump’s scheduled summit at Carnegie Mellon meets backlash
Carrie McDonough was appalled upon learning that President Donald Trump would appear at a summit hosted by Carnegie Mellon University. She immediately began formulating an open letter to the administration, condemning what she saw as a dangerous legitimization of the Trump administration’s values. “Trump is a harmful person,” said McDonough,...
UPenn to update swimming records set by Lia Thomas, settling with feds on transgender athletes case
WASHINGTON — The University of Pennsylvania says it will update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and apologize to female athletes “disadvantaged” by Thomas’ participation on the women’s swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case. The U.S. Education Department and Penn announced the voluntary...
Day camp, summer school and after-school programs in limbo during Trump administration review
WASHINGTON — Day camp providers and schools are warning that a Trump administration funding freeze could wreck summer for low-income American families and wipe out some after-school programming next year. The administration is withholding more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult...
Trump administration finds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students, threatens to cut all funding
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration intensified its battle with Harvard University, formally finding the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard’s federal funding, including federal student aid. In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, a federal task force said its investigation had found...
CMU’s Tartan Driver takes autonomous driving off Pittsburgh’s beaten path
All-terrain vehicles one day may be able to venture where no human dares to go using their own artificial intelligence. It could be to fight a raging wildfire or to rescue someone trapped in a remote location. And they may do so using a successor to Carnegie Mellon University’s TartanDriver....
Pat McAfee, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg donate $50,000 to Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools got some love from three celebrities, one of whom is its own alumni. Sports commentator and former NFL player Pat McAfee, rapper Wiz Khalifa and entertainer Snoop Dogg collectively donated $50,000 to PPS, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The school board accepted the donation Wednesday. McAfee...
Cyber school’s flexibility and support help West Tarentum boy thrive
Brook Stitt is keeping a close eye on the state budget vote this year. The West Tarentum mother is concerned about a proposal to limit per-student payments to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools. The bill, which also calls for changes to how cyber charters operate, narrowly passed the state House last...
Greensburg Salem passes 2.5-mill tax hike after contested vote, executive session
The Greensburg Salem School Board approved a $53 million budget Wednesday with a 2.5-mill tax hike for the 2025-26 school year. The average property owner with a median assessed value of $17,200 would see a $38 annual increase in their tax bills with a 2.5-mill tax jump — bringing the...
Pittsburgh Public Schools takes 1st step of proposed school closure plan
Pittsburgh Public School directors on Wednesday moved forward with the process for potential school closures. The school board voted to open state-required public hearings for the potential closures of nine facilities: Student Achievement Center (Baxter School), Friendship (which houses Montessori PreK-5), Fulton, McKelvey (which houses Miller PreK-5), Morrow, Schiller, Spring...
How ChatGPT and other AI tools are changing the teaching profession
For her 6th grade honors class, math teacher Ana Sepúlveda wanted to make geometry fun. She figured her students “who live and breathe soccer” would be interested to learn how mathematical concepts apply to the sport. She asked ChatGPT for help. Within seconds, the chatbot delivered a five-page lesson plan,...
Norwin School Board members critical of removal of archived YouTube videos
A Norwin School Board member and several residents are questioning the removal of archived school board meeting videos from the district’s official YouTube page. Administrators were not able to provide a specific reason at this week’s school board meeting why several livestreamed recordings of 2024 school board meetings — and...
Armstrong School District furloughs 7 full-time teachers, 2 part-timers
The Armstrong School District on Monday voted 7-2 to furlough seven full-time and two part-time teachers, and a nurse, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. School Board President Jason Elkin told WTAE that district administration originally recommended 14 positions be cut. “We were attempting to do what is most fiscally...
Hempfield Area reduces expenses, balances $114.3 million school budget
The Hempfield Area school board passed a balanced budget Monday night, almost exactly two months after it was tasked with closing a $5.1 million deficit. The gap was presented at the beginning of the board’s budget discussions in April. The board in May cut the deficit to $172,000, approving a...
Judge halts another Trump administration effort to block foreign students from attending Harvard
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday blocked another effort by the Trump administration to keep international students from attending Harvard University, saying officials’ “misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution” threatened freedom of speech. The order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston preserves the ability of...
Greensburg Central Catholic adjusts staffing amid declining enrollment, rising costs
Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School will undergo staffing changes heading into 2025-26 as the school faces declining enrollment. The private, parochial school’s enrollment spiked following the covid pandemic — jumping from 345 in the 2020-21 school year to 373 in 2021-22. The student population remained relatively consistent across the...
Nazareth Prep in Emsworth hosts ground breaking for athletics and arts facility
Nazareth Prep doesn’t have any home basketball or volleyball games, nor can it hold school functions such as graduation. That will soon change. The private Catholic school in Emsworth announced an $8.5 million expansion that includes a state-of-the-art facility for athletics and the arts, which will be able to accommodate...
Freeport Area School Board OKs $55 million high school renovation, tax hike
After years of planning and debate, the Freeport Area School Board moved ahead Wednesday with a $55 million high school renovation project — and approved a tax increase to help fund it. Both measures passed 5-4. The school directors who voted for both were Christine Davies, Michael Huth, Gregory Selinger,...
Penn-Trafford approves 3-mill tax hike, dips into savings to cover remaining deficit
Penn-Trafford tax bills will raise $84 annually on average following the school board’s decision Monday to implement a 3-mill tax hike. The board approved a $70 million budget with about $69.9 million in revenue Monday night. District tax rates will be 93.75 mills for Westmoreland County residents and 14.39 mills...
School for the Blind superintendent retires from education after more than 4 decades
A little free library sits outside Heidi Ondek’s home, and the symbolism of that little wooden box on a stand doesn’t go unnoticed by people who know Ondek, a Sewickley woman who has devoted her life to education. “My children gave me that little library as a Christmas gift,” said...
$172K deficit remains in Hempfield Area budget ahead of final vote
Hempfield Area still needs to figure out how to close a $172,000 gap in its 2025-26 budget ahead of the school board’s next voting meeting June 23, where a final budget will be adopted. The board held the final public hearing on its $114.5 million budget June 2. On May...
Carnegie Mellon alumni, former faculty win big at Tony Awards
Carnegie Mellon University alumni and faculty had a strong presence at this year’s Tony Awards, which recognized excellence in Broadway theatre for the 78th year in a row. Throughout the night, two CMU alumnae received a Tony. Natalie Venetia Belcon received one for her role in “Buena Vista Social Club”...
