Education category, Page 59

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...

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 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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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,...

Pittsburgh Public Schools will soon join the ranks of districts suing JUUL, the e-cigarettes manufacturer. The school board voted to retain legal counsel at a meeting Wednesday. “I think that this is a wise decision to join in and file and participate,” said board member Terry Kennedy. “It costs us...

If Larry E. Davis had been able to give the lecture he gave Tuesday evening back when it was originally scheduled last spring, it might not have had the same effect. His lecture “Will Race Always Matter?” was sponsored by the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy at...

As part of his two-day visit to the Pittsburgh region this week, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette participated in a discussion at Carnegie Mellon University, along with U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. The “fireside chat,” moderated by CMU’s Vice President of Research Michael McQuade and livestreamed via Brouillette’s...

Pennsylvania’s First Lady Frances Wolf joined 17 other first spouses and partners to urge federal leaders to continue child nutrition programs for the rest of the school school year. In letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to congressional leadership sent Friday, Wolf and her counterparts asked the entities...

Early enrollment numbers from two local public universities suggest the global pandemic is yielding a silver lining where graduate school enrollment is concerned. Officials at California and Slippery Rock universities said total enrollment at both schools is up slightly this fall, thanks to a bump in those opting to pursue...

Carnegie Mellon University marked a milestone this week in its efforts toward sustainability, equity and social justice. The university released a new report Wednesday that assesses actions taken to advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 objectives adopted by the United Nations. The SDGs, or “global goals,” aim...

Duquesne University risks setting a dangerous precedent and violating its own rules regarding academic freedom by trying to oust a professor for using a racial slur during a lecture about race, the suspended professor’s attorney said Wednesday. “It’s a knee-jerk reaction,” Warner Mariani, attorney for the embattled professor, Gary Shank,...

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine called on college students to follow the coronavirus safety guidelines recommended by their institutions and by health care professionals. The bulk of Levine’s message Monday was directed at people between the ages of 19 to 24, many of whom are college students, where...