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Liberty Math Teacher Busted With Child Porn Following Cybertip, Police Say (UPDATE) Liberty Math Teacher Busted With Child Porn Following Cybertip, Police Say (UPDATE)
Liberty Math Teacher Busted With Child Porn Following Cybertip, Police Say (Update) Police identified a Hudson Valley teacher who was arrested on charges related to child pornography. Sullivan County resident Christopher Dedonato, 26, of Liberty, was taken into custody Monday, May 5, following an investigation by New York State Police. Dedonato has worked as a math teacher at Liberty High School since 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, he worked as a substitute teacher for both the Liberty Central and Beacon City school districts. New York State Police opened an investigation after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploit…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
HS Teacher Arrested In Child Porn Case In Sullivan County HS Teacher Arrested In Child Porn Case In Sullivan County
HS Teacher Arrested In Child Porn Case In Sullivan County A high school teacher in Sullivan County has been arrested on charges related to child pornography, district officials confirmed Monday evening, May 5. The teacher arrested works at Liberty High School, according to the Liberty Central School District, which said it was made aware of the arrest on Monday evening. The charges involve sharing child-related pornographic content on social media, district officials said. The district said it was first made aware of the investigation on Thursday, April 22. At that time, the teacher was placed on immediate paid administrative leave, pending the o…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Record Student Loan Borrowers Face Default As Collections Resume, Grads Enter Weak Job Market Record Student Loan Borrowers Face Default As Collections Resume, Grads Enter Weak Job Market
Record Student Loan Borrowers Face Default As Collections Resume, Grads Enter Weak Job Market A record number of federal student loan borrowers are seriously delinquent as debt collections resume after a five-year pause, while new college graduates face tough employment prospects. The Education Department restarted collecting defaulted federal student loan debt on Monday, May 5. Collections were paused at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The move threatens to seize tax refunds and garnish paychecks from millions of Americans in default on their loans. The Education Department said about 42.7 million people owe more than $1.6 trillion in student loan d…

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by Chris Spiker
Schools
Student Scored $127K In Aid With University Application Full Of Lies — Now He’s In ICE Custody Student Scored $127K In Aid With University Application Full Of Lies — Now He’s In ICE Custody
Student Scored $127K In Aid With University Application Full Of Lies — Now He’s In ICE Custody A student who faked his way into Lehigh University and received over $127,000 in aid is now in ICE custody — marking the school’s third international student in recent years to face criminal charges, including one who poisoned his roommate and another who used a fake death certificate to win a full scholarship. All three have since been removed or are being deported. Cryilstan Sowah-Nai, originally from Ghana, pleaded no contest to securing execution of documents by deception on Monday, April 28, according to the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators say he misrepresen…

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by Jillian Pikora
Schools
National Teacher Of Year Named As Woman Who Returned Home To Teach With Mentor National Teacher Of Year Named As Woman Who Returned Home To Teach With Mentor
National Teacher Of Year Named As Woman Who Returned Home To Teach With Mentor A Pennsylvania high school teacher has been named the 2025 National Teacher of the Year, education officials announced Tuesday, April 29. Ashlie Crosson teaches English and journalism at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, where she also helps students publish a newspaper, magazine, and run social media accounts. She earned the national title after being selected as Pennsylvania’s 2024 Teacher of the Year by the state Department of Education. Crosson started teaching in Delaware in 2011, later returning to Pennsylvania to work in the Bellefonte Area School District while earning her m…

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by Jillian Pikora
Schools
School District Suspends DEI Policy To Protect $450K In Federal Funding In Hudson Valley School District Suspends DEI Policy To Protect $450K In Federal Funding In Hudson Valley
School District Suspends DEI Policy To Protect $450K In Federal Funding In Hudson Valley A Putnam County school district has voted to temporarily suspend its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy following last-minute legal guidance to protect hundreds of thousands of dollars in critical federal funding, officials announced.   In a letter sent to families on Saturday, April 26, the Board explained that its decision came just hours before its Tuesday, April 22 meeting, after the district’s legal counsel advised immediate action to maintain compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Failure to do so, according to the Board, could have put $450,000…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Trump Weighs In On NY School Mascot Battle: ‘Long Live The Massapequa Chiefs!’ Trump Weighs In On NY School Mascot Battle: ‘Long Live The Massapequa Chiefs!’
Trump Weighs In On NY School Mascot Battle: ‘Long Live The Massapequa Chiefs!’ President Donald Trump is throwing his support behind a Long Island school district fighting to keep its Native American-themed mascot. Trump came to the defense of the Massapequa Chiefs, blasting New York’s push for a rebrand as “ridiculous” and “an affront to our great Indian population," in a Truth Social post on Monday, April 21. The school district has been ordered to retire its decades-old mascot under a 2023 New York State mandate banning Indigenous-themed names and logos in public schools. “I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the M…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
150+ College Leaders Blast Trump For 'Unprecedented Overreach' On Higher Education 150+ College Leaders Blast Trump For 'Unprecedented Overreach' On Higher Education
150+ College Leaders Blast Trump For 'Unprecedented Overreach' On Higher Education More than 150 college leaders issued a scathing letter criticizing the Trump administration's escalating threats against universities. The American Association of Colleges and Universities released the public letter on Tuesday, April 22. The group of university presidents accused President Donald Trump of "unprecedented government overreach," warning that the crackdown could harm students and democracy. Trump has demanded that colleges eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, along with other orders aimed at limiting campus activism. The Trump administration has paused…

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by Chris Spiker
Schools
IRS May Withdraw Harvard's Tax-Exempt Status As Fight Between Trump, University Escalates IRS May Withdraw Harvard's Tax-Exempt Status As Fight Between Trump, University Escalates
IRS May Withdraw Harvard's Tax-Exempt Status As Fight Between Trump, University Escalates The Trump administration is weighing whether to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status—an unprecedented and aggressive move that has escalated tensions between the Ivy League institution and the federal government, according to reports from The Washington Post and CNN. According to two people familiar with the matter, the Internal Revenue Service is preparing to rescind Harvard’s long-standing nonprofit designation, CNN reported. A final decision could be announced soon. Related: Obama Calls Out Trump Over "Unlawful" $2 Billion Cuts to Harvard The effort follows the White House’s …

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by Josh Lanier
Schools
‘Unlawful’: Obama Defends Harvard Against Trump’s $2B Funding Threat ‘Unlawful’: Obama Defends Harvard Against Trump’s $2B Funding Threat
‘Unlawful’: Obama Defends Harvard Against Trump’s $2B Funding Threat Former President Barack Obama is lending his voice to support Harvard University after the prestigious Ivy League school dared President Donald Trump to follow through on his threatened $2 billion federal funding freeze if the school didn’t comply with his administration’s new guidelines. Among other demands, Trump wants Harvard to dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; ban masks at campus protests; implement a merit-based admissions and hiring system; and reduce the influence of faculty and administrators he claims are “more committed to activism” than education, a letter …

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by Josh Lanier
Schools
School Employee Had 'Inappropriate' Conversations With Students At NY Campus: Cops School Employee Had 'Inappropriate' Conversations With Students At NY Campus: Cops
School Employee Had 'Inappropriate' Conversations With Students At NY Campus: Cops A school employee was placed on leave after allegedly having inappropriate conversations with students at a campus in upstate New York, police said. Schoharie County resident Paul Hallock, 65, of Cobleskill, was arrested Thursday, April 10, following a New York State Police investigation into alleged misconduct at William H. Golding Middle School. An investigation found that Hallock, who works as a lunch monitor at the school, engaged in inappropriate conversations with multiple students between October 2024 and February of this year, according to police. Troopers opened a formal investig…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
Villanova Student Removed From Campus After Assault Outcry, Won’t Walk At Graduation Villanova Student Removed From Campus After Assault Outcry, Won’t Walk At Graduation
Villanova Student Removed From Campus After Assault Outcry, Won’t Walk At Graduation A Villanova University student who recorded another student’s sexual assault will not walk at the school’s graduation ceremony following intense backlash, the victim's attorney told Daily Voice on Wednesday, April 9. Juan Eguiguren, a Villanova senior, was present during the assault of a female classmate, according to a lawsuit and campus petition. Rather than intervening, Eguiguren allegedly took photos of the incident and later slept in the same room, organizers of the campaign allege. In the underlying case, Elijah Joseph Katzenell, 22, of Camp Hill, PA (according to the Pennsylvania S…

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by Jillian Pikora