Thomas Jefferson students receive iPads for start of school year
When classes start Aug. 26, Thomas Jefferson High School students will have new iPads. Over the past few years, the West Jefferson Hills School District has distributed Apple-branded tablet computers to its other academic buildings. Supplying ninth through 12th graders completes the transition from Google Chromebooks. Jennifer Kassimer, district director...
Brown University strikes agreement to resolve discrimination complaints and restore federal funding
WASHINGTON — Brown University will pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations in a deal with the Trump administration that restores lost federal research funding and ends investigations into alleged discrimination, officials said Wednesday. The university also agreed to several concessions in line with President Donald Trump’s political...
Trump administration freezes $108M at Duke amid inquiry into alleged racial preferences
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is freezing $108 million in research funding to Duke University as the federal government accuses the school of racial discrimination in the form of affirmative action, according to a person familiar with the matter. The National Institutes of Health halted the funding to the private...
Woodland Hills administration to move operations to high school building in Churchill
The Woodland Hills School District administration is moving its operations from North Braddock to the Woodland Hills High School on Greensburg Pike in Churchill. The new administration is set to be in place at the start of the school year. The move comes after the Woodland Hills School District approved...
Back-to-school season kicks off with donation drives for students
The back-to-school season is approaching as summer heat still lingers. As students transition from July to August, many families are still struggling to secure the supplies needed for a successful school year. Here are some ways you can help support students as they head back to the classroom for another...
Groups forming to plan futures of Penn State Fayette, New Kensington campuses
Officials in Fayette and Westmoreland counties are in the early stages of figuring out how they can best repurpose the closing Penn State campuses in their communities. Scott Dunn, chairman of the Fayette County commissioners, has been leading the charge to establish a team — branded the Eberly Campus Transition...
With Columbia as a model, White House seeks fines in potential deals with Harvard and others
WASHINGTON — The White House is pursuing heavy fines from Harvard and other universities as part of potential settlements to end investigations into campus antisemitism, using the deal it struck with Columbia University as a template, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. Fines have become a staple...
Pitt dining hall named best in nation. Do students agree?
The University of Pittsburgh was recently recognized for having the best dining hall food in the country — but do students agree? The National Association of College and University Food Services awarded The Eatery, Pitt’s largest dining facility, the Loyal E. Horton grand prize, naming it the best residential dining...
Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220M in deal with Trump to restore federal funding
NEW YORK — Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was canceled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus, the university announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, the Ivy League school...
Canvas to feature AI technology for educational interactions
AI technology will soon be brought into the classroom through a new integration with the Canvas learning platform. Canvas is the main online platform used by numerous universities like the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University, as well as K-12 school districts. Instructure, the maker of Canvas, and OpenAI...
Overbooked housing leads Pitt to rent hotel, apartments for students
Hundreds of students attending the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland will live in a hotel or apartments this fall, a move university officials say they made to accommodate the large, incoming freshmen class. Pitt received a record number of applications for the fall semester — 65,000 — which is a...
When it comes to assessed property values, what is a mill, anyway?
Taxpayers know their property taxes are expressed in terms of mills or “millage.” The higher the millage number, the bigger the tax bill. But many don’t understand where that comes from. For taxing purposes, a mill is 1/1,000th of a dollar. So a tax rate of 100 mills means the...
School district tax increases beg the question: Is the system broken?
If you’re one of the Western Pennsylvania residents smarting over a looming school tax increase this year, you’re not alone. All but four school districts in Westmoreland County will enact higher taxes this fall, and 6 in 10 districts in Allegheny County will do the same — including all but...
Penn State buys former fraternity house where Timothy Piazza was fatally hurt
Penn State trustees on Friday authorized the purchase of the former Beta Theta Pi house where hazing led to the death of student Timothy Piazza in 2017. The university will pay $7.3 million for the 0.92-acre property, located at 220 N. Burrowes Road, State College. Sara Thorndike, senior vice president...
Education Department will release some frozen grants supporting after-school and summer programs
WASHINGTON — The Education Department will release some previously withheld grant money for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Office of Management and Budget to allow the funds to be sent to states. President Donald Trump’s administration on July 1 withheld more than $6...
Penn State increases 2026-27 tuition rates for University Park, some branch campus students
Penn State’s budget for the 2026-27 academic year raises tuition for all of its students attending University Park and some of its students that attend branch campuses. The $10.2 billion budget, approved Friday by the board of trustees, includes a 2% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate students attending University Park,...
Civil rights work is slowing as Trump dismantles the Education Department, agency data shows
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration insists it hasn’t wavered in its duty to protect the civil rights of America’s children even as it dismantles the Education Department. Yet its own data shows the agency has resolved far fewer civil rights cases than in past years despite families filing more complaints....
Fox Chapel Area School District STEAM camp draws nearly 200 students
Fox Chapel Area School District hosted its annual STEAM Camp at Fairview Elementary School last month. About 200 students participated in the week dedicated to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. It was open to students in first through eighth grades. District community engagement specialist Jill Leonard said students attended...
Pa. joins lawsuit against Trump over frozen funds for after-school, summer programs
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — More than 20 states, including Pennsylvania, have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over billions of dollars in frozen funding for after-school and summer programs and other programs. About 1.4 million children and teenagers around the country have been attending after-school and summer programming at a Boys...
Pitt approves tuition and fee increases for fall term, lifts hiring freeze
Tuition for students at the University of Pittsburgh will increase again. The $3.2 billion budget, approved Friday by the Board of Trustees, includes a 2% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate and gradate students attending the Oakland campus, a 4% hike for out-of-state students and a 1% increase for students attending...
Head Start will be cut off for immigrants without legal status, Trump administration says
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will restrict immigrants in the country illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. The move is part of a broad effort to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants who lack legal...
Here’s the backstory to the tradition of The Fence at Carnegie Mellon
In the early hours before sunrise, a group of Carnegie Mellon University students once again gave a fresh coat of paint to The Fence, one of the campus’s most beloved and recognizable landmarks. The final brushstrokes served as the beginning of what is expected to be a long week for...
Trump’s scheduled summit at Carnegie Mellon meets backlash
Carrie McDonough was appalled upon learning that President Donald Trump would appear at a summit hosted by Carnegie Mellon University. She immediately began formulating an open letter to the administration, condemning what she saw as a dangerous legitimization of the Trump administration’s values. “Trump is a harmful person,” said McDonough,...
UPenn to update swimming records set by Lia Thomas, settling with feds on transgender athletes case
WASHINGTON — The University of Pennsylvania says it will update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and apologize to female athletes “disadvantaged” by Thomas’ participation on the women’s swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case. The U.S. Education Department and Penn announced the voluntary...
Day camp, summer school and after-school programs in limbo during Trump administration review
WASHINGTON — Day camp providers and schools are warning that a Trump administration funding freeze could wreck summer for low-income American families and wipe out some after-school programming next year. The administration is withholding more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult...
