Education category, Page 6
Local administrators give job interview practice to Pitt-Greensburg education students amid statewide teacher shortage
A smile still comes to Alex Murray’s face when he recalls the words his Beaver County high school art teacher told him two days out from summer vacation. Murray spent four weeks creating a face mask inspired by characters from book-turned-film “Pan’s Labyrinth” — a task his teacher once told...
Seton Hill students pitch business ideas, solutions in ‘Shark Tank’-style contest
Seton Hill student Nora Ozimek knew in high school she wanted to pursue a career in science. But even Ozimek, a junior studying biology and chemistry, admits that reading through research papers and journal articles is not her favorite task. The aspiring research and development scientist was one of a...
Carnegie Mellon students tense and anxious amid visa revocations
Skand Vijay won’t attempt to visit his home in India until he graduates from Carnegie Mellon University. He’s too nervous about the possibility of not being allowed back into the United States. Vijay hasn’t done anything to jeopardize his visa. Still, as fellow international students are having their visas revoked,...
Trump administration freezes $1.8 billion for Cornell and Northwestern
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has frozen more than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and about $790 million for Northwestern University while the government investigates alleged civil rights violations at the schools, the White House said. It’s part of a broader push of using taxpayer dollars to...
‘I only have a semester left’: Carnegie Mellon student among those whose visas were terminated
Jayson Ma received the same email as everyone else at Carnegie Mellon University on Monday afternoon. The message, sent by the provost, announced the federal government had terminated the visas for two of Carnegie Mellon’s current international students, making them ineligible to continue studying in the United States. “I was...
Are you smarter than a 6th grader? Western Pa. middle schoolers compete in Civics Bee
Which unmet constitutional standard did James Madison and Thomas Jefferson cite in their arguments against establishing a national bank? If your answer to that query was not the “Necessary and Proper Clause,” you may not have performed well against the 18 middle school students who competed in the Civics Bee...
Trump administration halts $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell, $790 million for Northwestern
WASHINGTON — More than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and around $790 million for Northwestern University has been frozen while the government investigates alleged civil rights violations at the schools, the White House said. It’s part of a broader push to use government funding to get major...
Federal crackdown on foreign students hits CMU, Pitt, Penn State
The U.S. government in recent weeks has terminated the visas of international students at universities across Pennsylvania, including in Pittsburgh, as part of a national crackdown on foreign scholars. Students have been targeted at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere....
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit to host interactive technology walk for students, families
The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit will host a Tech Trek event for families with students in grades three to eight from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 2. Educational technology company CodeJoy will engage attendees in a live robot television show, where students will learn to write code and control real...
Quaker Valley School District no longer accepting tuition students
Quaker Valley School District is no longer accepting tuition students. The school board unanimously voted on March 25 to update the district’s policy on nonresident students, including terminating the section that permits them to attend Quaker Valley if they pay tuition. The district currently has four tuition students, all in...
Brown University to see half a billion in federal funding halted by Trump administration
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to halt more than half a billion dollars in contracts and grants awarded to Brown University, adding to a list of Ivy League colleges that have had their federal money threatened as a result of their responses to antisemitism, a White House official...
Pitt, CMU, among 20 schools Forbes dubs ‘New Ivies’
The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon are among the country’s finest schools of higher education, according to a new list from Forbes that identifies 20 colleges as “New Ivies” — schools that produce quality graduates without the pretension and liberal political baggage that comes with an Ivy League pedigree....
Penn-Trafford Drama Guild to perform ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ musical
Penn-Trafford High School’s upcoming performance of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has taken senior Isaiah Cordera back to his childhood. Having grown up watching the film, Cordera is excited to bring the character Charlie to the stage during the show’s debut weekend, April 4 to 6. “It’s a really fun...
First draft of Burrell School District budget proposes roughly 4% tax increase
Burrell School District’s draft budget for next school year has just under a 4% real estate tax increase for property owners. The draft budget totals close to $37.7 million, which is a 3% increase from this school year’s budget, said Business Manager Jennifer Callahan. The real estate tax increase included...
Letter calls on Carnegie Mellon to denounce higher-ed actions by Trump administration
A letter signed by more than 150 Carnegie Mellon University faculty, staff, alumni and students calls on the university to denounce what it calls the Trump administration’s “punitive withholding of federal funding and detainment and deportation of international scholars.” The letter also asks Carnegie Mellon not to comply with federal...
There’s a new push to put whole milk back in school meals. Here’s what you should know
More than a dozen years after higher-fat milk was stripped from school meals to slow obesity in American kids and boost their health, momentum is growing to put it back. Federal lawmakers have revived bills that would allow whole and 2% milk to be served again in schools, in addition...
Trump task force to review Harvard’s funding after Columbia bows to federal demands
WASHINGTON — Harvard University has become the latest target in the Trump administration’s approach to fight campus antisemitism, with the announcement of a new “comprehensive review” that could jeopardize billions of dollars for the Ivy League college. A federal antisemitism task force is reviewing more than $255 million in contracts...
New Oakland Catholic principal was on faculty of Murrysville, McKeesport schools
The new principal of Oakland Catholic High School has more than three decades of experience as an educator and has proven leadership skills, said Pittsburgh Catholic Bishop David Zubik. Karen Kolenik will start the job on July 1. “She is not only a strong academic leader, but also a faithful...
Interest in online learning, cyber charters increase in wake of covid pandemic
As the covid-19 pandemic eased and Canon-McMillan School District reopened its doors in August 2021, elementary student Camille Postlewaite told her parents she did not want to return to in-person classes. “That was what she wanted to do, and we’re not big on, ‘Well, you’re going to do it this...
From technology to learning loss to mental health, covid’s impact on education still felt today
Wayne Walters can still recall the enormous logistical challenge of handing out thousands of paper packets of classwork to Pittsburgh Public Schools students in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic had taken hold in the region. Schools closed buildings, students were left to learn online, and educators scrambled over how best to...
Trump administration investigates Maine for claims of withholding gender transitions from parents
PORTLAND, Maine — The administration of President Donald Trump is investigating Maine with a claim that dozens of school districts in the state violate federal law by withholding information about students’ gender transitioning from parents. The U.S. Department of Education said it launched the investigation on Friday, the day after...
Utah becomes first state to ban LGBTQ+ pride flags in government buildings and schools
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah became the first state to prohibit flying LGBTQ+ pride flags at schools and all government buildings after the Republican governor announced he was allowing a ban on unsanctioned flag displays to become law without his signature. Gov. Spencer Cox, who made the announcement late Thursday...
Shady Side Academy computer science students prepare for multi-district competition
Two Shady Side Academy students, bonded by a common love of zeros and ones, are preparing to expand their multi-school district technology-based competition. Zeros and ones are the two digits used in binary code, often described as the fundamental language of computers. Juniors Thomas Wang of Fox Chapel and Vivan...
Colleges rely on federal research funding. Under Trump, its future is in doubt
After decades of partnership with the U.S. government, colleges are facing new doubts about the future of their federal funding. President Donald Trump’s administration has been using the funding spigot to seek compliance with his agenda, cutting off money to schools including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. All...
Pittsburgh college students fear ICE could hit campuses after string of national arrests
After several high-profile arrests of foreign nationals attending college in New York, Alabama and, now, Massachusetts, students at Pittsburgh universities wonder if it’s only a matter of time before federal immigration agents target their campuses. Spokespeople for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University said Thursday they weren’t aware...
