Education   

 

Controversial theologian

Peter Enns, a Westminster Theological Seminary professor whose recent suspension on theological grounds drew national attention, has agreed to leave the Glenside seminary on Friday.

 

Formerly homeless teen role model

Standing in a room full of homeless teenagers yesterday, Nicholas Shanks was hopeful that he could be a role model.

 

Phila. schools chief announces reorganization plan

To reduce the bureaucratic maze facing parents in the Philadelphia School District, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is adding the post of parent ombudsman to each of the district's regional offices - a first for the district.

 

Federal investigation delays release of Phila. Academy documents

The U.S. Attorney's Office has asked the Philadelphia Academy Charter School not to release documents collected in an internal probe of fiscal wrongdoing so as not to harm an ongoing investigation.

 

Ex-school board member wins ruling on data

Salary studies used by the Radnor school board when it granted raises for administrators are public records, a Delaware County Court judge has ruled.

 

Convention offers new foods for school lunches

School cafeterias just aren't what they used to be. Instead of sloppy joes or fish sticks, the star foods at the School Nutrition Association's annual national convention this week were chocolate-covered frozen bananas, whole-wheat pizza, and bottled hummus.

 

Pa. school board chair is quitting

HARRISBURG - The chairman of the State Board of Education is stepping down at the request of Gov. Rendell. Karl Girton said in a resignation letter sent to the governor Tuesday that he would resign from the 22-member board, which sets state education policy and regulations, on Aug. 1.

 

Fattah's student aid plan to grow

Another year of support will be added to Gear Up, which gets low-income teens ready to start college.

WASHINGTON - A program created by U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah to help low-income students get into college will soon be expanded to help students make it through their first year.

 

Vivid scenes, key details fill charter report

The walls began closing in on Kevin M. O'Shea in early April when an Inquirer reporter called to ask him about allegations of nepotism, misappropriation of money, and conflicts of interest at the Philadelphia Academy Charter School. His daughter, Tara, took the message.

 

Unsealing secrets of the Rosenbergs

For 50 years the Rosenberg spy case has been examined and reexamined in hundreds of books, doctoral theses, documentary films, Hollywood movies, and even a theatrical production.

 

Gas cost ignites surge in online college classes

More college students in the Philadelphia region had been opting to take some or all of their courses online even before gas topped $4 a gallon.

 

Probe assails charter's spending

The embattled board of the Philadelphia Academy Charter School last night released a scathing internal report alleging that the charter's founder and its former chief executive officer systematically looted the school for personal gain.

 

Tuition at Pa. universities set to increase 3.5 percent

HARRISBURG - Students at Pennsylvania's 14-state owned universities will have to dig deeper into their wallets to pay for tuition and technology.

 

Phila. Summer program helps refugees conquer English

First, Fareed Hamraqul and his family left Afghanistan, fleeing the Taliban for Uzbekistan in 1992. Then, five months ago, they left home amid more unrest, this time ending up in Philadelphia.

 

Eight Phila. proposed charter schools get grants

Although the Philadelphia School Reform Commission has delayed opening several charter schools for financial reasons, eight more proposed city charters have received charter planning grants.

 

How N.J. tax-overhaul idea sank

TRENTON - It was to have been merely an experiment, an attempt to see if eliminating local school superintendents and merging administrative functions in one county office - maybe in Gloucester, maybe somewhere else - would lead to lower taxes.

 

Video: Dr. James Capolupo, superintendent of the Springfield School District in Delaware County

Inquirer Education Editor Rose Ciotta interviewed area education leaders and asked them to respond to the following question: What change has impacted your district/school the most in the last decade?
All school leaders were asked to respond to the same question in writing. Two issues emerged as having the biggest impact: the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and technology in the classroom.
This is the first of several video interviews exploring those topics and others, including charter schools and single-sex schools. Here are the answers from Dr. James Capolupo, superintendent of the Springfield School District in Delaware County. He talks about the effect of the NCLB on his district. (Click twice on the Play button to start the video.)

 

School spending in Pennsylvania

 

6th-Grade Class Is Offered A Gift of College Tuition

The 112 sixth-grade students and their families sitting in the sweltering auditorium had never before seen the blond woman at the podium. Yet she was promising to change their lives.

 

Kristen Graham | A teacher worthy of apple and pi

Christopher Wiler would love for his students at Chester A. Arthur School to be stars in math and reading. But the thing he wants most is for the boys and girls he has guided for six years to be ready for the real world.

 

School celebrates hard-won success

Mastery's Shoemaker campus marks a turnaround.

Fourth in an occasional series. Annette Hayes squeezed into a seat near the stage for the eighth-grade promotion at Mastery Charter School's Shoemaker campus in West Philadelphia because she just knew she was going to holler and cheer for her son, Leroy.

 

From special ed to - NASA

HOUSTON - Finding your way through the corridors of the Johnson Space Center is, yeah, rocket science. Signs on doors announce the NASA sanctums, from "Ascent/Descent Dynamics" to "Rendezvous Guidance and Procedure." On the one leading to "Trajectory Operations and Planning" is the name of Jarmaine Ollivierre.

 

City teens head to summer school

Earlier this month, they marched up a long Convention Center aisle to cheers, applause and snapping flashes. They are the Class of 2007 of Philadelphia Futures, the nonprofit organization that picks at-risk teenagers from city high schools and prepares them - from ninth grade - to earn college diplomas. There are mentors, tutors, and financial and emotional support.

 

With cutbacks, Camden's teenagers hard pressed for jobs

Camden's teenagers, many of them idle for the summer, may have a hard time finding jobs this year. Faced with budget cuts, the city's usual summer employers have drastically scaled back and there are few jobs to go around, officials said.

 

14 Pa. schools, faculties close to agreement

Both sides said talks late last night removed the threat of a strike today.

The 14 Pennsylvania-owned universities and their faculty appear to be close to a tentative agreement on a four-year contract. Neither union officials nor state officials late last night would confirm details from the 12-hour bargaining session yesterday, but both said classes for about 25,000 summer school students, including those at West Chester and Cheyney, would convene today.