How does AI affect child development? Pa. researchers say safeguards are needed

WESA 3/19 11:30P Nicole Leonard | WHYY

Researchers found AI could help with creativity and education, but that it can confuse young children and generate harmful misinformation.

With less federal oversight, what’s next for civil rights enforcement in Pennsylvania schools?

WESA 3/18 11:32P Jillian Forstadt

State Sen. Lindsey Williams of Allegheny County is drafting a bill to expand civil rights enforcement within Pennsylvania’s Department of Education.

Norwin families await district fixes to 'racially hostile environment’ after 2024 federal...

WESA 3/17 11:33P Jillian Forstadt

Norwin’s case was among the last racial harassment cases resolved by OCR before the latest Trump administration began steps to dismantle the federal Department of Education and its civil rights office.

Pa. lays out plan to boost higher education enrollment, affordability

WESA 3/16 11:32P Rachel McDevitt

It’s the first time in decades the state has created a guiding document for post-secondary education.

Pittsburgh universities will fight student hunger with new, expanded food pantries

WESA 3/10 11:30P Rachel McDevitt

The PA Hunger-Free Campus grants can be used to create or expand campus food pantries, build community partnerships and offer meal plans that are eligible for federal SNAP benefits.

Pittsburgh Penguins buy local carbon credits to offset team's environmental footprint

WESA 3/8 11:30P Ayla Saeed

The Pittsburgh Penguins are tending to the team's carbon footprint in alignment with the Penguin’s Pledge sustainability initiative.

State House Democrats: Pa. needs to prioritize universal pre-K

WESA 3/8 1:00A Whitney Downard | Pennsylvania C

Research indicates that a quality pre-kindergarten education prepares children for kindergarten and beyond.

Lawmakers discuss school cellphone ban, literacy scores, repairing buildings at Pa. budget hearing

WESA 3/5 11:30P Jaxon White | WITF

Education spending is often among the most heated debates in the state Capitol as lawmakers negotiate Pennsylvania’s state budget.

Pa. schools use new state dollars to expand full-day kindergarten and reduce class sizes

WESA 3/4 11:33P Jillian Forstadt

Schools designated "adequacy funds" from the state to everything from boosting student academic performance and career readiness programs to expanding full-day kindergarten offerings and reducing class sizes.

Pittsburgh students pitch federal bill to guard workers against AI displacement during hackathon

WESA 3/1 11:33P Carson Folio

College students from across Pittsburgh recently came together at Duquesne University to pitch solutions to some pressing tech issues facing the world today — specifically related to the ethical use of AI.

Pine-Richland school board takes steps to reverse controversial library policy

WESA 2/23 11:33P Jillian Forstadt

The changes would reverse measures passed last year that expanded the board’s role in library book selection and prohibited materials with “pervasive vulgarity or profanity".

At one Pittsburgh-area high school, students learn how to debate the ethics of AI

WESA 2/22 11:33P Jillian Forstadt

English teacher Scott Tuffiash launched Avonworth’s AI and Ethics class to get students at his suburban public school talking to one another and thinking critically about the technology around them.

PPS board agrees to decide on school closures by end of school year 'one way or the other'

WESA 2/18 7:39A Jillian Forstadt

“It's clear tonight that this board wants to come to some conclusion one way or the other before the end of the school year,” board president Gene Walker said.

What happened to snow days? Pa. education advocates caution against too much remote learning

WESA 2/15 11:32P Jillian Forstadt

For some students and families, remote days were a welcome continuation of classroom lessons. For others, however, online and asynchronous instruction meant missing the essential services they rely on to access their right to public education,...

Pittsburgh’s First Lady Katie O’Connor looks to prioritize early education learning

WESA 2/15 11:30P Ayla Saeed

“The studies and the science behind the significance and early learning, it is just simply staggering,” First Lady Katie O'Connor said during a roundtable discussion she convened last week with leaders from Pittsburgh's literacy and children's...