Education category, Page 44

The number of high school students applying for state and federal college aid has continued to decline across Pennsylvania, state leaders said, nixing hopes that figures would begin to rebound. Applications for the FAFSA — short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid — were down by about 30,000 by...

Quaker Valley High School will receive some upgrades at the end of the school year while the school board moves forward with plans to replace it. The school board recently approved several contracts for work there. The upper asphalt drives and parking lot will be paved and restriped by Bedford-based...

State-funded programs to combat sexual harassment and violence on campus through education is paying dividends, state education officials were told Friday at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The programs are raising awareness through plays, speakers, activities, workshops and frank discussions, according to Seton Hill officials. In a 45-minute roundtable discussion,...

Franklin Regional School Board members, administrators and parents on Wednesday continued their discussion about the district’s decision to pause the teaching of “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi’s award-winning graphic novel, in the ninth grade honors English class. District officials said earlier this month that the school board’s curriculum committee wanted to make...

The time, thought and effort that English teachers and librarians put into their work is not random, says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director for the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They have college degrees, they care very deeply about the work they do, and to suggest that the objections of...

A proposal to impose a 1% tax on college tuition and medical bills in Pittsburgh is facing opposition and potential legal problems. Councilman Ricky Burgess introduced the measure Tuesday. Students seeking higher education in colleges, universities and advanced technical schools would be assessed a 1% tax on their tuition before...

A proposal introduced to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday would impose a 1% tax on people seeking higher education and receiving medical care in the city, with the proceeds going toward a new fund for repairing the city’s aging infrastructure. “The strongest part of our economy is the educational and...

Matt Dado, technology and engineering teacher at Quaker Valley High School, has been accepted as one of 19 ambassadors in the Pennsylvania STEM Ambassador Program. The program aims to shape the future of STEM education in the commonwealth by targeting vital policy conversations to legislative leadership in the areas of...

New Kensington-Arnold School District is seeking classroom monitors to help with a shortage of substitute teachers, Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said. Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 91 into law in December to address the staffing shortage. Under the pilot program, monitors are allowed to oversee classrooms but not allowed to instruct...

Emily Miller disassembled a car engine without getting her hands dirty while Brian Conway tried his skills at welding without creating sparks. The two Greensburg Salem School Board members were among district officials this weekwho sampled virtual skill simulations that are part of the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center...

Student scores on Pennsylvania standardized tests fell sharply last year in most categories, although state education officials cautioned the numbers were so distorted by pandemic conditions that they are of limited use for comparison to previous years — particularly regarding statewide trends. The Education Department on Friday released results of...

HARRISBURG — Three state-owned universities in Pennsylvania will soon be known as the consolidated Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania after a vote by the State System Board of Governors on Wednesday. The board voted unanimously to make the change involving Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities, although those previous names will...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been dubbed the TikTok war by some, as videos of the violence have surfaced across that and other social media platforms favored by many of today’s youths. “It makes it more real for them, not just some distant event,” said Jaime Rininger, who teaches geography...

Indiana University of Pennsylvania has been approved to offer a tuition break next fall to Pennsylvania residents. IUP officials also dropped a mask mandate for most areas on its main campus, in accordance with the latest guidance on covid-19 precautions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Pennsylvania...

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska public schools would have to teach lessons about the Holocaust and other episodes of genocide under a bill advanced by lawmakers on Tuesday. Lawmakers gave the measure initial approval on a 44-0 vote, despite some questions about which specific moments in history could be defined as...

Ten seniors at Greensburg Salem High School are on a mission to capture the title of “Mr. GS 2022” when the popular annual pageant returns. “Secret Agents” is the theme for the event, which is sponsored by the Student Council Association and raises money toward activities including homecoming, the spring...

The state’s student financial agency on Thursday advised 43 employees who work in its information technology area that March 11 will be their last day on the job. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency officials cited the decision to transition out of its role as a federal student loan servicer...

Humanities majors are more than a punchline. Not everyone can or wants to be a STEM major, and the world would be a poorer place if they were. To have great things to read, music that inspires, perspectives that challenge us — to have a sense of reward and meaning...

Children may never be more enamored with the wonders of science than when they’re in their pre-kindergarten years. The Carnegie Science Center believes children who engage their curiosity by asking questions when they’re between the ages of 3-5 build a strong foundation for skills they can use later in life....

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is proposing a tuition break for in-state undergraduates beginning next fall by moving back to a flat-rate billing model. Under the plan, students who live in Pennsylvania and are enrolled in courses totaling between 12 and 18 credits per semester would pay $7,716 in annual tuition,...

To highlight the impact Black people have had in society, Leechburg High School students in Honors American History 2 gave Black History Month presentations Thursday morning. “We wanted to do something that was taught beyond the textbook to recognize individuals who have greatly shaped our history,” social studies teacher Scott...

Pittsburgh Public Schools is looking to hire consultants to help it conduct a national search for a new superintendent. Former PPS superintendent Anthony Hamlet resigned in October after the district received criticism over in-person schooling decisions related to the pandemic and the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission found Hamlet violated the state’s...

PHOENIX — Arizona’s Republican-controlled Senate approved a massive expansion of the state’s school voucher system on Wednesday, a contentious proposal the sponsor says is aimed at low-income students but that also adds wealthier parents who could use public money to pay for private schools. The measure would make as many...

HARRISBURG — Two years after he first proposed it, Gov. Tom Wolf is trying to engage the Legislature anew in his bid to start a major new scholarship program for college students in Pennsylvania, but on Wednesday said the idea has new urgency because of difficulties in finding workers across...

On a school day in November, Allegheny Valley School District officials had 11 teachers off work and only one substitute to call in. The district was considering using some of its American Rescue Plan funding to help bring in additional substitutes, serving as yet another example of a district struggling...