Education
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First Amendment Rights at Center of Clash Between Pa. Schools and Students Over ICE Walkouts
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Pennsylvania students have a First Amendment right to protest ICE, but schools can discipline walkouts as they would any unexcused absence and not more harshly due to the political message.
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Battista: What To Do Next – Revisited
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“Dream Big! Keep it Real. Get it Done!” – Joe Battista, From The Power of Pragmatic Passion It’s graduation season, and you know what that means? It’s time for my periodic “Pragmatic Passion” message to those of you who have kids, relatives or friends still undecided about what to do after high school or college…
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Volunteer Driven: OLLI at Penn State Members Help Power Lifelong Learning
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UNIVERSITY PARK — As they continue their lifelong learning journeys, more than 300 members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Penn State also give back as volunteers to help the institute provide learning, volunteer, travel and other opportunities for fellow community members aged 50 or better. During the past year, 317 members from OLLI at…
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Construction Bids for New Park Forest Middle School Come in Under Budget
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Bids for construction of State College Area School District’s new Park Forest Middle School came in well below estimates, according to a presentation to the school board on Monday night. Apparent low bids for seven prime contracts totaled $112.2 million, about $18.1 million, or 14%, less than the projected $130.3 million. That encompasses base bids…
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Bellefonte Area 4th Grader Competing to Become ‘America’s Favorite Student’
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Update May 3, 2026: Marion-Walker Elementary student Kieran Long advanced to the quarterfinals of America’s Favorite student. You can help him advance to the semifinals by voting daily at americasfavstudent.org/2026/kieran-10 through 10 p.m. EDT on May 7. Kieran’s mother, Robyn Long, told StateCollege.com that if he wins he has committed to donating a portion of…
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Centre County 4-H Robotics Team Qualifies for World Championship
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Centre Punch, the Centre County 4-H Robotics high school team, has earned a spot in the world championship after an outstanding performance at the FIRST Robotics Competition Gotham Regional last week in New York City. The team claimed second place among a competitive field of 41 teams from eight countries at the regional event, held…
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Students, Parents Call on SCASD for Equitable Music Instruction at Delta Middle School
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Updated 7:59 p.m. April 7. Nearly 20 students and parents spoke at Monday night’s State College Area School Board meeting to urge the district to provide equitable music education at the Delta Middle School. While Delta Middle, which along with Delta High transitioned from an alternative program to a formally recognized school this academic year,…
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SCASD Planning 3.5% Tax Increase in 2026-27 Budget
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State College Area School District is planning a 3.5% tax increase as part of a $221.6 million budget for 2026-27, according to a presentation at Monday night’s school board meeting. The proposed increase, which is the maximum allowable this year under the state’s Act 1 index, equals about 1.85 mills and would provide an additional…
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Frank: The Luftmensch’s Guide to Educational Reform
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My academic home at Penn State is the College of Communications, but at heart, I’m a humanities guy. My bachelor’s degree was in Creative Writing, the English department’s home for would-be poets and novelists. My graduate degrees are in folklore studies. As anyone can plainly see, I was (and still am) a luftmensch, a Yiddish…
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SCASD Briefly Extending School Days to Make Up for Snow Closures
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State College Area schools will add time to each school day for the remainder of the spring to make up for snow closures, instead of extending the academic calendar in June. Beginning Monday, March 30, five minutes will be added to every day at each district school to meet the state-mandated 180 days of instruction…