Jillian Forstadt

3 days ago | wvia.org | Jillian Forstadt

With just regularly attending school, educators, judges and service providers say the state must take a more collaborative approach to reduce chronic absenteeism. Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Education told members of the Senate Education Committee on Monday that they are meeting with leaders at the Department of Human Services to come up with more creative solutions.

4 days ago | wesa.fm | Jillian Forstadt

With just regularly attending school, educators, judges and service providers say the state must take a more collaborative approach to reduce chronic absenteeism. Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Education told members of the Senate Education Committee on Monday that they are meeting with leaders at the Department of Human Services to come up with more creative solutions.

1 week ago | wesa.fm | Jillian Forstadt

Potential cuts to Medicaid and federal education funding weighed heavily on attendees’ minds Thursday at the region’s 12th annual Disability and Mental Health Summit. The summit, hosted by state Rep. Dan Miller of Mt. Lebanon, kicked off with a presentation on the significance of Medicaid funding in Pennsylvania. Roughly 3 million Pennsylvanians — including more than 1.2 million children — rely on the program for free or low-cost health care.

3 weeks ago | wesa.fm | Jillian Forstadt |Susan Peterson

Pittsburgh school board members are canvassing their communities to find out what goals the district should prioritize in the coming years. Board members say the process will allow them to run Pittsburgh Public Schools more efficiently, increase transparency and respond directly to community feedback. But some parents and stakeholders have been hesitant to share what they will value most in the future without more clarity on the looming school closures at present.

3 weeks ago | wesa.fm | Jillian Forstadt

Pittsburgh school board members have spent most of the past year debating how to best go about closing schools without disrupting students’ well-being. While some board members want to finalize the list of school closures ahead of November’s general election, district administrators have said that no buildings will shutter until after the end of the 2025-2026 school year.