North Allegheny

North Allegheny School District has been designated a Gold Medal School District by Expansion Management magazine in its 16th annual education quotient issue.

In conducting evaluations, the magazine considers graduation rates, College Board scores, student-to-teacher ratios, per pupil expenditures and more. Their formula emphasizes student performance above all of the other factors. To achieve a gold medal, a district must rank in the top 16 percent of all school districts nationally.

Pine-Richland

State Secretary of Education Dr. Gerald L. Zahorchak will "flip the switch" at Pine-Richland High School on Tuesday to launch the Classrooms for the Future Initiative.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded the district $314,383 this year as one of the first 79 school districts in the state and one of 12 in Allegheny County to participate in year one of the program.

The program is Gov. Edward G. Rendell's initiative to put a laptop computer on every high school English, math, science and social studies desk and to provide teachers with a multimedia workstation and intensive training to enhance education. The state 2006-07 budget is providing $20 million for the first year of Classrooms for the Future, which the governor intends to expand statewide.

CFF Technology Coach Danielle Czegan said the grant will outfit the high school with the 11 interactive white boards, mobile cart with 15 student laptops, teacher notebooks, projector, all-in-one color printer-scanner-copier, and video and still cameras.

Ms. Czegan says the district will apply for 35 more classrooms over the next two years of the grant, if legislators and the governor renew the grant.

Dr. Laura Davis, high school principal and grant writer, and Dr. Ron Meisberger, district technology director, says the initiative is about engaging students and a whole lot more.

"Classrooms For the Future means that we can focus new effort and resources in our strategic direction ... engaging learners, transforming teaching and readying leaders," said Dr. Meisberger.

"CFF provides an extraordinary opportunity and demands an extraordinary commitment of everyone involved. 'Smart Classrooms' are less about the acquisition of technologies and more about the creation of exciting, interactive and collaborative learning places," he said.

During the event, beginning at 2:30 p.m., there will be a technology demonstration, comments from teachers and students.

The high school is at 700 Warrendale Road in Pine.

St. Joseph High School

The school was one of five local groups or organizations honored as an Organization of the Year by the Catholic Education Foundation.

The school, in the Natrona Heights section of Harrison, was honored because of its inclusion on the Catholic High School Honor Roll for 2006.

The honor roll recognizes the top 50 Catholic secondary school in the country. St. Joseph was one of four schools in the state to be recognized.

Quaker Valley

The school board adopted the 2007-08 proposed final budget Tuesday.

The $34,874,249 spending plan includes a proposed 0.5 mill increase, which would raise the millage rate to 19.35 mills.

State-mandated increases in retirement contributions, salaries, cyber charter school tuition, special education support, health care and rising diesel fuel costs are among reasons cited for the proposed tax increase. In addition, 0.05 mill would support a specific capital need for the Sewickley Public Library.

The owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay an additional $50 per year.

A public meeting will be conducted at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of the Quaker Valley Middle School.

The school board will vote on the final budget and taxes June 26.

The proposed final budget is available for review on the district's Web site, qvsd.org, or at the administrative offices, 203 Graham St. in Sewickley.