Hello, everyone!
It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today. Make sure to get out and enjoy it before the hustle and bustle of back-to-school.
Yesterday was a busy day for education news, so let's get to it.
Here are five things to know today:
1. TESTING CHANGES: Western Pennsylvania educators lauded Gov. Tom Wolf's announcement Monday that elementary school students statewide will spend about 20 percent less time on standardized testing in the coming school year.
2. ROLL CALL: United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania announced Monday an expanded partnership with the University of Pittsburgh aimed at helping schools across the region discover and implement the most effective methods for addressing chronic absenteeism.
3. SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS WANTED: A Source4Teachers banner declaring “Now Hiring,” substitute teachers and classroom aides went up in front of the Greensburg Salem Middle School over the weekend. Greensburg Salem teachers return Aug. 28, with students back on Aug. 30.
4. LEADERSHIP CHANGE: An assistant Woodland Hills High School principal is in line to take over for embattled principal Kevin Murray on an interim basis as his future with the school remains murky, the district's superintendent told the Tribune-Review.
5. ENROLLMENT ON THE RISE? The Hempfield Area School District will have more kindergartners than expected this year, causing class sizes to exceed the district's threshold of 23 students or less per class. The board is considering adding two more kindergarten teachers — one at Fort Allen Elementary and one at Stanwood Elementary — to keep class sizes small.
As most school districts in Westmoreland County contend with shrinking populations and, by extension, dwindling school enrollment, the Norwin School District is seeing a jump in enrollment numbers. When classes start Monday, enrollment is expected to increase by 150 students compared to the end of the last school year, the largest single school-year jump that administrators can recall, reports Joe Napsha for TribLIVE.
Norwin's enrollment increased steadily over the summer to top 5,300 students with a week remaining before classes begin. The district is one of the only districts in our area to see increasing enrollment and an expanding residential population, TribLIVE reporter Brian Bowling reported in July.
Questions? Story ideas? Send them to schooltips@tribweb.com.
Don't forget to follow the TribLIVE Education Team on Twitter:
• Emily Balser @emilybalser (Valley News Dispatch newsroom)
• Debra Erdley @deberdley_Trib (Greensburg newsroom)
• Natasha Lindstrom @NewsNatasha (Pittsburgh newsroom)
• Jamie Martines @Jamie_Martines (Greensburg newsroom)
