Education category, Page 86
New security protocol at Penn Hills School District prohibits visiting except for school business
People without a purpose – such as picking up or dropping off students, or have a scheduled visit – should stay off of Penn Hills School District property during school hours, according to a recent security change. Superintendent Nancy Hines said similar security measures were implemented at the Bill Fralic...
West Jefferson Hills to add trailers at intermediate school to meet growth demands
Jefferson Hills Intermediate School has run out of space. A high rate of growth in the district has pushed music classes onto the stage and gifted meetings into the hallways. While district leaders work toward a long-term plan to renovate and add onto the school, for the next few years...
West Jefferson Hills settlement with principal released
The West Jefferson Hills School District agreed to pay an $85,000 settlement to former Gill Hall Elementary Principal Tina Mayer when it parted ways with the longtime employee. Details of the settlement agreement approved by school board members on Aug. 13 were released to the Tribune-Review on Sept. 20 through...
4 Yough students treated for possible contagious skin infection
Four students in the Yough School District have been treated for possible impetigo since the beginning of the school year, Superintendent Janet Sardon said Tuesday. “The Yough School District takes the health and safety of our students as a top priority,” Sardon said in a statement. Impetigo is a common...
Billionaire who pledged to wipe out Morehouse College grads’ loans extends offer to their parents
Remember back in May when billionaire Robert F. Smith promised to pay off nearly 400 Morehouse graduates’ student loans? That endeavor was going to cost around $34 million, according to the Washington Post. Now, he’s added to his tab by extending that offer to their parents as well. The billionaire...
Penn State professor’s discovery sets off Shakespeare tweetstorm
William Shakespeare and John Milton collided in the Twitterverse this month in a bang-up that set off a trans-Atlantic tweetstorm over a 400-year-old book. The discovery that Milton — he of “Paradise Lost” fame — likely was the owner of a 1623 Shakespeare first folio and made extensive notes in...
Study: Pa. college grads have 2nd-highest average student debt load in nation
College graduates in Pennsylvania shouldered the second-highest average student debt load in the nation in 2018, a new survey found. According to the Institute for College Access and Success survey of 2018 college graduates, only Connecticut graduates, who shouldered an average debt of $38,669, fared worse than their Pennsylvania counterparts,...
West Jefferson Hills has ‘never seen anything like’ its 9 sets of kindergarten twinsVideo
Aria and Gianna Husrefovic each smile sweetly and give a little wave from their seats on the floor inside Melissa Wahl’s kindergarten classroom at McClellan Elementary. It’s hard to tell the difference between the identical twins, whose outfits match perfectly down to the bows in their hair and scrunchies on...
New Thomas Jefferson High School police officer is a familiar face
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 schools cancel classes amid bedbug issue
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...
Judge denies appeal of Franklin Regional’s ‘elementary campus’ projectVideo
The Sloan Project Concerned Citizens group has maintained throughout its appeal of Franklin Regional’s Sloan “elementary campus” project that Murrysville officials did not go far enough in imposing conditions on the project. Paramount to the group’s appeal was its contention the Sardis/Crowfoot roads area was not suited for the increased...
North Allegheny accepting applications for Distinguished Alumni Award
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...
Parenting expert ‘Dr. G’ to speak at Greater Latrobe Senior HighVideo
Squirrel Hill family physician and nationally recognized parenting expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa will speak to parents and other members of the Greater Latrobe and Derry Area school communities on Oct. 10 at Greater Latrobe Senior High School. Gilboa’s presentation is set for 7 p.m. in the school auditorium. The mother...
Company cuts Elizabeth Forward bus routes as contract showdown continues
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 University to reinstate academic, athletic programs
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...
Carlynton to hold meetings on superintendent hire
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...
Quaker Valley embraces new technology
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...
Highlands choir teacher’s passion fueled by seeing his students shine
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...
Felicity Huffman gets 14 days in prison, $30K fine for college admissions scam
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...
Penn State board approves pay hike for university president
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 schedules ‘Coffee Talks’ at schools
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...
Pitt Greensburg to gather data for national health research project
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...
Gateway creates esports club for students
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. Wolf announces new fees for Pennsylvania charter schools
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...
Pirates Charities donation to South Fayette school increases physical fitness
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...
