Mt. Pleasant school district cuts ties with Lifetouch photo company after Epstein connection Pittsburgh-area school districts are reevaluating their use of a popular school photo company after concerns were raised linking the organization to people...

Pittsburgh-area school districts are reevaluating their use of a popular school photo company after concerns were raised linking the organization to people mentioned in the Justice Department files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Pittsburgh-area schools strengthen policies for possible ICE encounters amid rising community anxiety Pittsburgh-area school districts are moving to reassure families and protect students as anxiety spreads through local communities over stepped-up federal...

Pittsburgh-area school districts are moving to reassure families and protect students as anxiety spreads through local communities over stepped-up federal immigration enforcement.

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Pine-Richland suspends controversial library book policy, considers major revisions A controversial library book policy has been suspended as the Pine-Richland School Board considers drastic changes to the document that last year spurred...

Pine-Richland suspends controversial library book policy, considers major revisions www.post-gazette.com/news/educati... by @megantomasic.bsky.social

Western Pa. school districts spend thousands to maintain unused schools community members want to see revitalized The former Knoxville Middle School sits silent in the middle of the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, darkness radiating behind windows not yet boarded...

The Post-Gazette sent Right-To-Know requests to Allegheny County school districts to examine how much is being spent to upkeep closed schools. This is what @megantomasic.bsky.social found. www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...

Pa. adopts science-of-reading reforms after years of reading struggles A few years ago, educators at the Canon-McMillan School District saw an alarming trend: 14% of fourth graders were not reading at grade level as they headed...

The changes, part of yearslong efforts by the state, largely stemmed from declining reading scores — last year, national tests showed that 1 in 3 Pennsylvania fourth graders could read at a proficient level.

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Pittsburgh Public Schools directors vote against closing schools Pittsburgh Public Schools directors are not moving forward with a plan to close schools. Directors during Tuesday’s legislative session at the Oakland...

After two years of discussion and intense community pushback, the Pittsburgh Public school board voted against a school closure plan that would have shuttered nine schools. Story via @megantomasic.bsky.social www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...

Pittsburgh-area schools welcome long-awaited state budget, new funding School districts across the Pittsburgh region, which have endured months of uncertainty and mounting financial pressures, are celebrating the passage of...

The budget features a $565 million increase in public school adequacy funding, $105 million in basic education funding and a $40 million increase in special education funding.
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Pittsburgh-area schools credit cellphone bans for fewer fights, better focus among students The Woodland Hills High School cafeteria is a bustling spot. Students are often laughing and talking with each other. The sounds of ping pong balls bouncing...

Pa. school districts that have banned cellphones are reporting fewer fights and better student focus. Story via @megantomasic.bsky.social www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...

Pittsburgh Public Schools lays out plan to guide possible school closures Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders took a deep dive Thursday into how a controversial school closure and reconfiguration plan could look citywide if implemented...

“Tonight I am asking for your partnership, for your courage and for your vote so that we can do what we came here to do. Improve outcomes, improve experiences and fulfill our responsibility to the children and families of Pittsburgh.”
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Rural and small Pa. schools turn to sharing services with other districts as they face shrinking budgets and declining enrollments Tucked into the mountains of northern Pennsylvania, students in the Otto-Eldred School District faced a dilemma: spend a full hour of the school day on...

Pennsylvania rural schools are struggling. Here’s how some are surviving, via @megantomasic.bsky.social www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...

Families raise questions, concerns after Beaver County charter school abruptly closes Dozens of parents, students and teachers Tuesday called on board members of a now shuttered Beaver County charter school for answers after the organization...

“You just screwed over my future."

Parents, teachers react to abrupt closure of the Midland Innovation + Technology Charter School

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Pittsburgh-area schools bracing for federal funding loss as Trump administration freezes nearly $7 billion A dozen teens at the Boys & Girls Club in Shadyside temporarily hesitated Friday morning after being asked to answer, “When at home I feel most...

Pittsburgh-area schools bracing for federal funding loss as Trump administration freezes nearly $7 billion

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Pittsburgh Public parents search for new camps after Summer B.O.O.S.T. canceled Katrina Shaahid often spent the summer months worrying her kids would fall behind academically. So when Pittsburgh Public Schools offered a free summer...

“It's disappointing, frustrating. Because parents like myself who do work … rely on Summer B.O.O.S.T. to assist their children with some of the academic refreshers during the summer."
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Pittsburgh-area immigration advocacy groups caution about ICE ‘wellness checks’ Pittsburgh-area advocacy groups are issuing guidance after immigration officials in recent weeks began conducting wellness checks on children who arrived...

Pittsburgh-area advocacy groups are issuing guidance after immigration officials in recent weeks began conducting wellness checks on children who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border alone before being placed in the care of family members or a sponsor.
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Pittsburgh Gen Z students still love a good book Gen Z has a bad reputation. The generation behind TikTok trends of “quiet quitting” and “lazy girl jobs” is often considered unreliable,...

“A lot of that is lost if you're just giving them a chunk. ... I don't agree with the trend of just giving them excerpts because it's easier, or whatever the rationale is.”

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Partnership between Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation, McKeesport Area School District ends A partnership that brought various programming focused on supporting the learning and wellbeing of some of McKeesport Area School District’s youngest...

Over the course of the partnership, Dick’s has provided several initiatives geared toward children, including a summer camp that has been around since 2021. The following year a new community resource center was announced at Twin Rivers Elementary.
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Pittsburgh organizations reeling after AmeriCorps cuts When Terri Wright-Jones enters the art classroom at Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12, she gets right to work. Middle schoolers confide in her about ongoing...

The Trump administration last month gutted AmeriCorps, a 30-year-old federal agency, by ending nearly $400 million in grants to more than 1,000 programs nationwide. Here's how local organizations are impacted:
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Pittsburgh Public recommending 12 school closures under newly revised plan Pittsburgh Public School officials are flipping the script. Instead of proposing 14 school closures, they are now considering 12, a move that changes the...

Pittsburgh Public recommending 12 school closures under newly revised plan www.post-gazette.com/news/educati... by @megantomasic.bsky.social

In Western Pa. school board races, a shift for voters who have been ‘jolted awake’ Four years ago, Joseph Cassidy and Amy Terchick were confident in the slate of candidates they joined as they successfully ran for a seat on the Pine-Richland...

“We've somehow swung the pendulum far right now, and we need to get back to middle ground somewhere."
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2 Beaver County school districts considering sharing superintendent The Rochester Area and New Brighton Area school districts are considering sharing a superintendent. The plan, presented during a town hall meeting Monday...

Two Western Pa. school districts are considering sharing a superintendent as they face declining enrollments and budgetary constraints. Story from @megantomasic.bsky.social www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...

Here’s how Pittsburgh-area schools are preparing for Pa.'s standardized tests moving online With the click of a button, a bubble representing one of four possible answers on a multiple choice practice test turns from white to a light blue color,...

Next school year, all Pennsylvania students will use the online testing platform when taking Pennsylvania’s Keystone Exams and the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSAs.

Here's how area schools are preparing:

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Pittsburgh Public pulls resolution that was next step in school closure process The possible closure of 10 Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings has been postponed, at least temporarily, after a resolution was pulled that would have...

“We’ve heard clearly from our board that more information is needed. As previously shared, it has always been our intention to provide both the board and the public with additional information before bringing any plan forward for a vote."

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Pittsburgh Public parents call on directors to slow school closure plan More than 100 Pittsburgh Public Schools parents and community members gathered at the district’s Oakland administration building Monday evening with...

“There is still so much data that you need to inform your vote. New attendance zones, feasibility of transportation, the basic price tag. Why are we rushing into a vote that can have such devastating consequences for this city?”

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Pittsburgh Public Schools set for major changes over next 2 years With 14 schools on the chopping block and 12 slated for different grades or uses, Pittsburgh Public Schools is set for an overhaul.

“There’s just not a good enough map for anything really positive to come out of this. It’s just closing buildings.”

Pittsburgh Public parents preparing for possible major changes as district officials weigh school closures

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Some Pittsburgh Public school directors want more information before moving forward with school closures Some Pittsburgh Public School directors want to pump the brakes on a more than a yearlong process that could lead to the closure of several school buildings...

“I think it’s a big mistake this item is on the agenda for this month."

Some Pittsburgh Public school directors want more information before moving forward with school closures

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Pine-Richland passes final read of controversial library policy, defining process to challenge books Pine-Richland school directors Monday passed the final reading of a controversial library book policy, bringing to an end a contentious year-and-a-half...

The vote brings to an end a nearly year-and-a-half process that has rocked the Pine-Richland community.

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Pittsburgh Public Schools throws support behind proposed school closure plan Pittsburgh Public Schools officials are throwing their support behind a controversial school closure plan that has rocked the city for most of the past...

Pittsburgh Public Schools throws support behind proposed school closure plan

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Pine-Richland passes second read of controversial book policy Pine-Richland school directors passed the second reading of a controversial library book policy in an hourslong meeting Monday that at times devolved into...

The policy will now move on for its third and final reading.
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'Angel of Greenwood' author meets with Pine-Richland students after book rejected as district core text Randi Pink stood tall in front of more than 60 Pine-Richland students, teachers and community members Saturday afternoon, her message clear: She is unbothered. Unbothered...

“I am in awe from what I’ve seen from your community. It is shocking how powerful you are.”
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More Allegheny County schools are ending snow days. But do students actually attend online? When the snow falls, kids today are no longer guaranteed anticipation-filled mornings dreaming of sled riding and building snowmen as they wait for a snow...

More school districts are opting for virtual days instead of snow days, but are students actually logging on for classes? @megantomasic.bsky.social filed Right to Know requests to find out www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...