Education   

 

Schools are likely targets for N.J. budget cuts

TRENTON - A key Republican lawmaker says he expects school-aid cuts when Gov. Christie lays out his budget plans tomorrow.

 

Archdiocese to shut a school in Hatboro

St. John Bosco Catholic elementary school in Hatboro will close in June as a result of declining enrollment, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced yesterday.

 

Pa. bill would expand overhaul of schools

Low-achieving schools could be turned into charter schools or handed over to outside management. Underperforming charters could be closed. Elected boards would be replaced by appointed ones in failing districts.

 

Web not yet the answer to college-text costs

As a freshman at Temple University, Gian Hunjan shelled out $500 per semester for textbooks at the bookstore, all new.

 

Third Swarthmore official joins global venture

For Kelly Wilcox, it will mean leaving Swarthmore College after 17 years, first as a student, then as a field-hockey coach and administrator.

 

Rutgers attempts to defend title in recycling contest

Rutgers red, meet gorilla green. Actually, they're quite the team already. Rutgers University is trying for its fourth consecutive win in the annual intercollegiate RecycleMania contest. For three years, it has claimed the competition's Gorilla Prize for the most pounds of recyclables collected, one of eight contest categories.

 

Bucks principal won't be charged in serious accident

A Bucks County middle-school principal will not be charged in connection with a Jan. 4 accident that severely injured a student walking to school, District Attorney David Heckler said yesterday.

 

Whistle-blower suit filed in charter probe

A former administrator at Community Academy Charter School has filed a whistle-blower suit alleging that she was improperly fired the day after federal agents raided the school in August.

 

Christie advisers call for tough new school rules

In a call for change that has raised eyebrows within the New Jersey education community, Gov. Christie's transition advisers have recommended expanding the number of charter schools, re-evaluating hundreds of education regulations, and radically tightening eligibility for high-school students applying to the NJ STARS college-tuition program.

 

Other Phila. schools handle racial, ethnic tensions

Solving racial problems has historically been left to individual schools in the Philadelphia district. And several - such as Fels in the Northeast, Furness High in South Philadelphia, and Bartram in Southwest Philadelphia - stand out for how they've brought in outside help, solved similar problems, and brought students together, community leaders say.

 

Study finds high school choice 'an illusion'

Despite offering a dramatically expanded menu of high school choices for students in recent years, most Philadelphia School District pupils still end up in the city's large and failing neighborhood high schools, according to a new study.

 

Penn State climatologist cleared of misconduct

A Pennsylvania State University committee yesterday cleared climate researcher Michael Mann of professional-misconduct charges but said it would further investigate whether the scientist "deviated from accepted practices."

 

Charter school's ex-board chief reports to prison

The former board president of Philadelphia Academy Charter School reported to a federal prison in the Florida Panhandle on Monday to begin serving a 366-day sentence for mail fraud.

 

Annette John-Hall: Beau Zabel's legacy to Phila.

I can only imagine how disquieting it must have felt for Meg Guerreiro to see such a painful and personal time of her life reflected on stage.

 

School opens on Valley Forge park grounds

Not every preschooler gets to learn the alphabet in a park that commemorates an epic struggle for independence, but when 80 students at the Montessori Children's House of Valley Forge look out their window, history stares back.

 

Parents implore district: Stop tinkering, fix schools

Parents at one North Philadelphia school that may be radically overhauled in the fall had a clear message for the Philadelphia School District last night: Enough is enough. Stop tinkering with our school and figure out how to help our kids.

 

Big screen and bigger ideas

EduCon promotes innovative ideas, tools.

EduCon 2.2 is no ordinary assemblage of people from around the country involved in education. Consider that the weekend conference that ended yesterday was conducted by the Philadelphia School District's Science Leadership Academy, and held in its classroom building. Forget about yawn-inspiring presentations - these sessions featured rousing conversations blending realism with innovative idealism.

 

Phila. teachers jittery over school-overhaul plans

Upon learning that University City High School was on the list for radical changes, one teacher described the mood as "pretty gloomy."

 

A bumper year for applications to top colleges

Getting into the University of Pennsylvania and other elite private schools in the area could be harder this fall, with applications coming in at record increases.

 

Could museum's gold be from ancient Troy?

The scientist had traveled from Germany to examine the ancient items that lay before him on the University of Pennsylvania laboratory table, and he was dazzled.

 

District changes to address violence at Audenried

When the new Audenried High School opened in 2008, officials had high hopes that the $60 million structure could erase memories of the violent, failing Philadelphia school once nicknamed the "Prison on the Hill."

 

Fans, foes: Status report due on stimulus jobs

By the time the good news came in April, Curt Fox was more than worried. He had already cut his Nucero Electric Construction company crew by half to 11. Revenue had dropped 50 percent in two years. Worse, there were next to no jobs in the pipeline for the fall.

 

Commission hears of violence in many city schools

Violence is a problem not just at South Philadelphia High but also at schools around the city, several parents, teachers, and residents told the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations last night.

 

14 Phila. schools eligible for improvement program

Setting the stage for more dramatic change in city classrooms, the Philadelphia School District yesterday announced that 14 chronically low-performing schools are eligible for radical restructuring in the fall.

 

N.J. voters deny 7 of 9 school-construction questions

Voters in seven of nine school-district referendums around the state said no to new taxes Tuesday, rejecting 12 school construction and renovation proposals.