Education category, Page 83
IUP, Duquesne, Robert Morris to bolster addiction prevention programs
When students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania return to class Jan. 21, they will be among the first in the state to benefit from a new program designed to prevent opioid abuse. IUP, which received a $99,888 state grant to underwrite the effort, was among 13 colleges and universities selected...
Pitt medical school appoints new dean to replace Arthur Levine
A leader at Indiana University, the nation’s largest medical school, will take over as senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in June. Dr. Anantha Shekhar, who serves as executive associate dean for research affairs and several other...
Celebrity basketball game will benefit scholarships for Hispanic students
The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will host its second annual Celebrity Basketball Game to raise money for scholarships supporting the region’s Hispanic community. The game will be at 2:30 p.m., Jan. 11 at the Wunderley Gymnasium at Penn State’s Greater Allegheny campus in McKeesport. The game will...
Central Michigan professor named dean at Seton Hill’s School of Business
Seton Hill University has named Debasish Chakraborty, a professor of economics at Central Michigan University, as dean of the Greensburg university’s School of Business. University President Mary C. Finger announced Chakraborty’s appointment Wednesday and said he will begin his tenure on March 16. Chakraborty’s appointment comes as Paul Mahady, former...
Point Park introduces new master’s program for environmental journalism
Point Park University will offer a Master of Arts in Environmental Journalism degree, with courses starting this fall. The 36-credit program combines journalism courses with graduate-level environmental science courses. “A unique facet of this program is its focus on coursework in environmental studies, enabling students not only to understand the...
Pittsburgh Public Schools looking to sell 4 vacant schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools is trying to sell four vacant school buildings and a sizable parcel of land to developers with plans that will help the neighborhoods and the district. The district distributed a request for proposals Monday through Fourth River Development for prospective bidders to purchase and redevelop its surplus...
Slate of new school directors seated in 2 North Hills districts
Newly elected school directors in two North Hills school districts have been sworn-in for seats that they won in the Nov. 5 general election. School board members serve four-year, unpaid terms in office. North Hills School District Only one of the four incumbent members of the North Hills School Board...
Yough principal joins alma mater’s inaugural ‘Under 40’ classVideo
Amy Larcinese remembers playing “school” as a child, writing on her chalkboards and instructing a classroom of stuffed animals, baby dolls and cousins. “I just knew that I always wanted to work with kids and try to make a difference,” she says. She also recalls riding along with her firefighter...
Ex-teacher in Bucks County charged with taking up-skirt photos of students
OTTSVILLE — A former high school teacher has been charged with secretly taking indecent photos of three students and posting them online. Francis Reppert, 26, of Quakertown in Bucks County, outside of Philadelhia, was arraigned Thursday on charges of indecent exposure and invasion of privacy. He was released on $500,000...
Baldwin-Whitehall’s McAnnulty Elementary closed over boiler malfunction
Early Friday morning, prior to student arrivals at McAnnulty Elementary School in Baldwin-Whitehall School District as the teaching and professional staff began to arrive in the building, a malfunction was detected with one of the boilers in the building, according to a news release from the district. Carrie Butler, Baldwin-Whitehall...
‘Quid pro quo’ tops banished words list
In an apparent nod to President Donald Trump, and to the great relief of newspaper editors near and far, the experts at Lake Superior State University announced Wednesday that “quid pro quo” topped its 45th Annual Banished Word List. The small public university, located on Michigan’s northern Peninsula, began publishing...
5 Pittsburgh schools among state’s highest in arrests, citations as security debate continues
Five Pittsburgh schools are among the top 25 in the state for arrests and citations, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The figures are fuel to the fiery debate over school security and police officers in the buildings. “I don’t believe there should be police presence in...
Sloan teachers, students move into first fully renovated classroom wing
When Sloan Elementary School teacher Janine Mickel attended a meeting with VEBH, the architects spearheading the design of the Sloan “elementary campus” project, she was told they “planned to bring the outdoors into the classroom.” Standing in a freshly renovated wing of the building that is complete and occupied by...
Deer Lakes High School students use emoji paintings to encourage frank conversationsVideo
Art students at Deer Lakes High School are hoping students and staffers will stop and see the emoji. Not the cartoon-like images on their cellphones, but ones on the walls. Emoji allow people to express emotion digitally through a variety of faces that display different expressions and picture characters. They...
Pittsburgh nonprofit hosts essay contest, scholarship for ‘ambassador’ camp
Tired of incivility, social media fights and partisan divisions? A Pittsburgh-based nonprofit is doing its part to promote respect and civility by sponsoring the ninth annual Luminari scholarship for “I Want to be an Ambassador!” camp. The 2020 Luminari Award essay competition is open to all Pittsburgh-area students currently in...
Former state rep will present ‘The State of Education in Pennsylvania’ in Murrysville
As education experts in Pennsylvania go, it’s tough to top Ron Cowell. In addition to 24 years as a state representative with 12 years on the House Committee on Education, Cowell has been president and executive director for the Education Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg since 1999. He has...
Kiski Area improves performance, diversity in Advanced Placement courses
The number of Kiski Area High School students taking Advanced Placement tests is nearly nine times higher than it was three years ago, and students are passing four times as many tests, according to data the district shared this week. The high school also offers AP courses to far more...
White teacher sues Woodland Hills alleging racial discrimination
A Woodland Hills School District teacher who holds advanced degrees in administration and educational leadership is suing the district and alleging he wasn’t hired as an assistant principal because of his race. Charles Kost, of McDonald has been a teacher at Woodland Hills for 15 years. He has a master’s...
Duquesne University’s ‘puppy dog eyes’ study among most influential of 2019
A research paper that studied how “puppy dog eyes” evolved to help dogs communicate with humans was ranked as one of the top 100 most influential studies of 2019. The paper, co-authored by Anne Burrows, a biological anthropologist in Duquesne University’s Department of Physical Therapy, ranked 27th in the Altmetric...
Reparations mark new front for U.S. colleges tied to slavery
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The promise of reparations to atone for historical ties to slavery has opened new territory in a reckoning at U.S. colleges, which until now have responded with monuments, building name changes and public apologies. Georgetown University and two theological seminaries have announced funding commitments to benefit descendants...
Democratic presidential hopefuls heading to Pittsburgh for education forum
Pittsburgh will play host Saturday to a nationally televised event spotlighting where eight Democratic presidential candidates stand on a variety of hot-button education issues. National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García, who was an elementary school teacher, said she and fellow educators couldn’t be more excited about the chance to...
4 arrested in Propel Schools check forgery case; warrant out for 5th suspect
Police arrested four people in connection with a scheme to steal nearly $23,000 from Propel Schools by forging checks in the Western Pennsylvania charter school operator’s name, officials said Monday. The Propel Schools Foundation filed a report with police on Nov. 12 after discovering nearly two dozen fraudulent checks in...
North Hills teacher named 2020 Educator of the Year
Joe Welch, a North Hills Middle School teacher, was named Pennsylvania’s 2020 Educator of the Year. Welch, who teaches American History at North Hills Middle School, was one of 12 Teacher of the Year finalists. Nominations for the Teacher of the Year were submitted by students, parents, peers, and members...
Carlynton taps North Allegheny principal as new superintendent
North Allegheny Senior High School principal John Kreider is the new superintendent for the Carlynton School District. School directors unanimously approved Kreider to be the district’s next leader at the board meeting Tuesday. Kreider will begin his duties on or before Feb. 7. He will remain at North Allegheny to...
Fred Rogers Productions CEO to speak at Saint Vincent College commencement
Paul Siefken, president and CEO of Fred Rogers Productions, will deliver the address for the December commencement at Saint Vincent College in Unity, the college announced. The 15th annual December commencement will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 14 at the Robert S. Carey Student Center. Siefken joined Fred Rogers...
