April 03, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A soft-spoken seventh grader and a respected community leader last week told the McKeesport Area School Board they support the creation of a black student union.
The concept was first discussed in detail at the Feb. 27 board meeting.
During the public comment portion of the board's monthly meeting, Stephanie, a seventh-grade student, told the board that a black student union would help provide kids with skills in dealing with the consequences of their actions.
“You may ask why we want it,” she said. “It's not that we want it, we need it. It teaches kids right from wrong. If you take that away from us, we have nothing.”
Read More
April 03, 2019 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Graduate students from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University toured the Mon Valley on Saturday as part of a project to study technological challenges to redeveloping the region.
Led by Rick Stafford, distinguished service professor of public policy, the students in the course titled "Societal Consequences of Technological Change" visited sites in Braddock, Duquesne and McKeesport, stopping for lunch at the Tube City Center for Business & Innovation (the former McKeesport Daily News Building).
Read More
April 02, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The McKeesport Area School Board has lent its support to proposed legislation that would change the way cyber-charter school tuition is collected.
At the board's March 27 meeting, the board approved a resolution in support of state House Bill 526 and state Senate Bill 34. If passed, the bills would require families to pay out-of-pocket tuition for their children to attend a cyber-charter school if a similar program was offered by their home district.
Paying cyber-charter school tuition can cost the McKeesport Area School District “possibly over a million dollars (for) some of the students who are out of the district, in other cyber-charter school systems,” Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. said.
Read More
March 21, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac file photo from 2007.)
The owner of a popular pro wrestling federation that's celebrating its 25th anniversary this year is looking to grow in McKeesport.
Pro Wrestling eXpress, or PWX, is planning to move into digital media education and training aspiring wrestlers, said owner and co-founder Jim Miller.
Along with the city, PWX is seeking an Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund grant to demolish the abandoned St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church on Beacon Street. PWX has its studio, headquarters and ring in the former Catholic school --- now dubbed "The Battleground" --- adjoining the church.
"It’s been such a blight and I’ve done nothing but chase out squatters and druggies," Miller said.
Read More
March 12, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School Board members will meet with people who have pressed the district to create a Black Student Union.
The decision came after former city councilwoman Fawn Walker-Montgomery and others urged the district during the school board's Feb. 27 meeting to create the group as a safe space for students to talk about racial issues, including a lack of African-American representation on the faculty.
“This is something I feel like I've been advocating for since I was in ninth grade at McKeesport High School,” Walker-Montgomery said, adding that “every time we want something for the black community it has to be a struggle.”
“We don’t want that this time, so that's why we came to you all with this,” she said. “Let's work together.”
School Superintendent Mark P. Holtzman Jr. defended the district's record and asked for examples of how minority students are being mistreated.
Read More
March 07, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Almanac photo)
Repairs to McIntosh Drive in McKeesport's Haler Heights neighborhood are expected to begin within 30 days, city officials said.
At Wednesday's meeting, council by 7-0 vote awarded a $316,125 contract to Geobuild LLC of Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, to stablize and rebuild about 122 feet of the street, part of which is down to one lane following a landslide in the 900 block last year.
But residents are worried that other parts of the dead-end street, located just above old Route 48, are also beginning to collapse. On Wednesday, one homeowner criticized city council and Mayor Michael Cherepko, saying they didn't act fast enough.
Harriet Siegmund said the McKeesport post office has temporarily stopped mail delivery to her and her neighbors, and, she said, she was told that city fire trucks can no longer navigate the partially closed street.
Read More
March 06, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School District will partner with the University of Pittsburgh on a research project about how to prevent violence among pre-teens, teens and young adults.
At their Feb. 28 meeting, school directors approved the district's participation in "Expect Respect Middle School: Preventing Severe and Lethal Violence Among Youth with Prior Violence Exposure."
The violence prevention program is part of a study being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, said Mark Holtzman Jr., district superintendent.
“The university is doing great work in studying violence in Allegheny County, looking at violence as a disease, violence prevention, dating violence and criminal activity,” Holtzman said.
Read More
March 06, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area school directors and staff took time during the February school board meeting to remember the late Debra Bertoty.
Bertoty, 46, of White Oak was employed in the district for 23 years as a learning support teacher at George Washington, Cornell and Centennial Elementary Schools and, most recently, at Francis McClure Intermediate School, where she was a life-skills teacher for third, fourth and fifth graders. She died Feb. 16 following a brief illness.
“Students and staff are struggling with the unfortunate and untimely passing of Ms. Bertoty,” said Mark Holtzman Jr., district superintendent. “She was a very important member of the McKeesport school district family.”
In other business, the board accepted a bid of $142,920 from Skyward Inc. for student management software. The package will replace the district's existing GoEdustar and ProSoft record-keeping system.
Read More
February 21, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A McKeesport Area High School student has urged the school board to investigate programs to combat gun violence, substance abuse and what he referred to as “emotional regression” issues negatively impacting students.
Nearly two dozen students were on hand at January's school board meeting as Alex Dalton pitched his ideas to the school directors.
Dalton told the board about programs like Me2We that focus on supporting students struggling with mental health and other stressful issues. He also discussed a proposed student solution center, where students could get help “from peer mediators and learn about coping mechanisms, to better deal with emotional distress in a safe environment.”
Read More
February 21, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Three McKeesport Area High School students have been awarded scholarships to Seton Hill University in Greensburg to pursue degrees in science, math or technology.
The awards to Terayah Parris, Myah Roka and Emily Filotei from the Girls of STEM program were announced at the Jan. 23 school board meeting.
Each student will receive $20,000 per academic year, district officials said. Filotei was presented with a certificate of recognition from Holtzman. Parris and Roka did not attend the meeting.
Read More
