Education category, Page 75

Brian Peters already was a familiar face in the West Jefferson Hills community, even before he put on a new uniform to serve as a school police officer at Thomas Jefferson High School. Peters, 48, a resident of Pleasant Hills, has worked as an assistant coach for TJ’s varsity swim...

Clairton City School District is dismissing students early Thursday and will be closed Friday because of bedbugs, the district announced. According to a letter dated Wednesday from Superintendent Ginny Hunt, a bedbug incident occurred in the district’s building, which houses its elementary and middle/high school. Bedbugs are small, oval, brownish...

The North Allegheny Foundation is accepting nominations through Oct. 22 for its annual Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to society or outstanding professional accomplishments. Areas of consideration include: • Advancement of their profession; expertise and dedication to their field. • Significant professional innovations...

More than 350 children in the Elizabeth Forward School District won’t be able to take a bus to school this week as the contract spat between the district and its transportation provider continues with no end in sight. Pennsylvania Coach Lines is under court order to continue transporting students while...

WHEELING, W.Va. — A private West Virginia university will reinstate several academic and athletic programs that were dropped amid a financial crisis. Wheeling University says in a statement that starting in January, it will resume offering majors in biology, engineering science and English. It also will offer new online programs...

The timing of two state statutes has resulted in Carlynton school board temporarily changing job titles of two administrators. Acting Superintendent Joseph Dimperio resigned from his position and was appointed to the position of temporary substitute director of fiscal affairs and finance. Christopher Juzwick was appointed to temporarily fill the...

Students sitting in social studies classes at Quaker Valley middle and high schools can take a virtual tour of the Golden Gate bridge from inside their classroom. In math class, students can answer a problem right on their iPad screen — showing the work they’ve done — and their teacher...

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. Michael Zeiler kept his end-of-the-school-year tradition a secret for nearly a decade. After his students had left, as Zeiler packed up his classroom for the summer, he’d take a seat...

BOSTON — “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison for paying $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT scores in the college admissions scandal that ensnared dozens of wealthy and well-connected parents. Huffman, 56, became the first of 34 parents to be sentenced in the...

The president of Penn State is getting a 2.5% salary increase and trustees are making it retroactive to the beginning of July. The Board of Trustees on Friday voted unanimously to boost Eric Barron’s base pay to $855,000 a year. He’s been Penn State’s top administrator since 2014. The Centre...

Highlands Superintendent Monique Mawhinney will be holding a series of “Coffee Talks” this year to improve communication between parents and school district administration. It will be an opportunity for parents with children in the district’s schools to discuss any issues or concerns related to their building or to share news...

A big data research project that experts say may change the face of medicine in the next decade is headed to Westmoreland County. The National Institutes of Health project dubbed “All of Us” seeks to collect health data from one million Americans over the next five years. It is coming...

The Gateway school board created an esports club for the district’s high school students. Gateway proposed establishing the club, which will be headed by a staff member to be paid a $750 stipend by the Emerald Foundation each semester to manage the program. The Emerald Foundation is a Lancaster-based nonprofit...

Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced that the state Department of Education will enact new fees directed at charter schools. The “fee-for-service model” will charge charter schools to resolve payment disputes with local school districts. It is part of a sweeping charter school reform plan that Wolf announced earlier this...

The excitement could be felt around the Watson Institute’s Education Center South in South Fayette. Not only was a new school year beginning but, thanks to Pirates Charities, the school had new adaptive equipment to help promote physical fitness among students. “It’s like kids in a candy store,” said program...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...