Connerton has worked for Anne Arundel County Public Schools for 15 years and now is the school system’s wellness coordinator.

Connerton, who went to the White House after being named teacher of the year, is one of 48 recipients nationwide. Given by the National Education Association Foundation, the award recognizes exceptional K-12 public school educators for excellence in the classroom, dedication to family and community engagement, a commitment to equity and diversity and advocacy for the teaching profession.

“I am honored and humbled to be one of the 48 educators in the nation to receive the 2025 Travelers Award for Teaching Excellence through the NEA Foundation,” Connerton said in a news release Monday. “I am in awe that this work that I hold so dear to my heart is getting such notice because what drives me every day is simply doing everything I can to create a better world for our youth.”

Previously, Connerton was the wellness coordinator at Annapolis High School, where she created and led the school’s Trauma-Informed Leadership Team. She led monthly counseling groups, such as yoga sessions for specific student needs, and put together professional development for teachers with a focus on the health and wellness of students.

“When I start from the very beginning and get to the very end, they’re like, ‘wow, that is a really crazy story,’” The victim’s mother Tammy Nobles told Project Baltimore. “And I say, ‘it is a crazy story. But it’s a true story.’ It’s the worst pain that a parent can ever get.”

Nobles’ daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed on July 27, 2022. For more than two years her death made headlines.

“She was just found with a cord wrapped around her neck and her mouth. Then just left her on the floor, like trash,” Nobles explained.

On the day Kayla died, Aberdeen Police quickly identified Walter Martinez — 16-year-old MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who was in United States illegally — as a primary suspect, according to charging documents, which showed Martinez was detained by police and questioned. Detectives had surveillance video and an audio recording that placed Martinez at the scene of the crime. Martinez was read his Miranda Rights.

“They knew he was guilty. They just needed that DNA to really lock it in,” stated Nobles.

When police sent out Martinez’s DNA, it took six months to process. And after Kayla was murdered, and while police were waiting for the DNA results, Martinez was allowed to enroll as a student and was attending Edgewood High School in Harford County.

“It makes me angry,” Nobles told FOX45. “You’re sitting there putting this monster into high school with other people’s children, and you’re putting children at risk. Look what he did to Kayla.”

According to information Fox45 News gathered from local and federal agencies involved in the investigation, this is the timeline of events surrounding Kayla’s murder.

• In March 2022, Martinez entered the United States illegally through Texas as an unaccompanied minor. He was apprehended by Border Patrol and sent to live with a sponsor in Maryland.
• By July 2022, Martinez moved to a mobile home in Aberdeen where he later killed Kayla.
• By the fall of 2022, as police waited for the DNA results, Martinez had been placed in foster care with Child and Protective Services. He then enrolled at Edgewood High School.
• In January 2023, the DNA results came back, and Martinez was arrested.
• In August 2024, he pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 70 years in jail.

“Why did you put him in a public school? I want to know why,” said Nobles. “Somebody needs to be held accountable.”

Under Maryland law, even though Martinez was a suspect, since he had not yet been charged with murder, he could attend Edgewood High School, and authorities, including CPS, were not required to tell the school about his past. But Nobles believes someone should have.

Harford County Public Schools told Fox45 in a statement when Martinez was enrolled in October 2022, “There was no information in our possession that would suggest he was a danger to other students and staff. HCPS is not afforded unfettered access to information held by law enforcement which may suggest that a potential student is dangerous, gang-affiliated, or suspected of heinous and disturbing crimes.”

“We need to change the laws,” said Nobles. “If you’re a suspect, the main suspect of a felony, you should not be able to attend school with other children. They have virtual school and computers.”

Several organizations were involved in the investigation into Martinez, including  the Aberdeen Police Department, Maryland State Police, the FBI, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Child and Protective Services.

Yet, when Martinez was enrolled in Edgewood High School, no one involved told the school that a teen suspected of murder was walking the hallways with 1,400 other students.

“Imagining what [Kayla] went through that day, how she felt — her last moments knowing that she was dying, and she wasn’t going to see me again — how scared she must have been,” said Nobles, who lives in Virginia with Kayla’s younger brother and sister. “I want to make sure that it doesn’t happen to someone else. People need to know what actually happened and what is going on. Her death is not going to be in vain.”

Open-government proponents say the use of auto-deleting messaging platforms for government matters violates the spirit of public records laws, and a recent state investigation finding that former State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury and some of his staff used the app Signal for work-related exchanges highlights those concerns once again.

The topic also became a local flashpoint in 2022, with Democratic Maryland lawmakers calling for reforms after The Washington Post reported that then-Gov. Larry Hogan, now running for U.S. Senate, was using the self-deleting messaging features of an app called Wickr to communicate with his executive team.

“Unfortunately, at all levels of government, whether federal, state or local, we see elected officials and government officials try to avoid public records laws and retention laws by using messaging apps and self-deleting messages,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for the national government accountability group Common Cause.

Many exchanges among Maryland officials, such as emails about state business, are presumed open for public inspection — the general public can request them under the Maryland Public Information Act. Not all records are releasable; the law contains rules for what is exempt, and other records may be destroyed in time frames set by agency retention schedules.

“Ultimately, it just comes to down to transparency and sunlight — making sure that the public and voters can get an understanding of how their elected officials and public officials are spending their time, how they’re representing us,” Scherb said.

The situation becomes blurrier when officials use apps intended to keep those conversations private. Several apps have features that automatically delete messages, opening up the possibility of infringing upon records-retention programs and open records laws, at least in spirit. It’s hard to determine if, and how, officials are on those apps. And even if they’re using the apps, it’s difficult to tell what their conversations are about and if they should be considered public.

The Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education said in its report last month that Choudhury had said he used Signal to communicate with members of his executive team and that “occasionally, work-related matters got ‘mixed in’ with personal issues.”

“Often, there’s a blur, a shade of gray between personal and official,” said Scherb, noting that an exchange could start as a “purely personal communication” but then “dip into their professional responsibilities.”

“We would always err on the side of open records laws capturing more of those communications,” Scherb said. “It’s all about the public having a right to know and having that transparency to ensure that the public — and especially voters — have the information that they need.”

In Choudhury’s case, the inspector general’s report said it opened its probe after receiving a complaint that the superintendent used Signal “to discuss government policy and vendor contract decisions.” It concluded that Choudhury and “key members” of the Maryland State Department of Education executive team used Signal “for communications relating to both personal and work-related matters,” and identified a “pattern” of education officials using the app to discuss “work topics.” But the report doesn’t specify what matters were discussed nor if and how Choudhury used the app’s feature that automatically deletes messages.

Choudhury was initially confronted over his use of Signal last September by FOX45, telling a reporter that he didn’t use Signal “for my job.” The television station had obtained screenshots of work-related communications, which included Choudhury discussing licensing for a data analytics program used by the state education department. The screenshots also show the former state superintendent, who stepped down from his post last October and has since been replaced, setting a timer to make his messages disappear after one hour.

The problem isn’t necessarily that officials are using Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram or any of the dozens of encrypted messaging platforms now available, said Del. Vaughn Stewart, a Montgomery County Democrat. It’s mainly how those apps have been used — especially the auto-deleting functions — without regard to records-retention schedules and open records laws, he said.

Stewart and fellow Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation in the wake of Hogan’s Wickr revelations to ensure “any written, electronic, audio or video communication” involving public business would be subject to the state’s public records laws. Although open records laws and retention schedules would cover most of those records, Stewart said that the bill, which did not pass, was mainly to make the law clearer.

The bill also stipulated that the Office of the Governor is a “unit of government” required to retain and archive certain records. Hogan’s team had said that the governor’s office was not a “unit” of government subject to such retention laws but rather the head of state government.

In the Wickr chatrooms, Hogan’s staff used the app’s “Burn-On-Read” timers to schedule messages for destruction 24 hours after they were read. Stewart noted that one could use similar tactics on basic platforms like Apple’s iMessage, though it would be slightly more tedious.

Stewart noted that deleting communications about governmental business, no matter how it’s done, goes against what records-retention schedules are intended for: transparency. The public has a right to know about how policy is made, and Hogan’s staff was using the “Burn-On-Read” chatrooms to communicate about policy with “people like Roy McGrath,” Stewart said, referring to the former Hogan aide who became a fugitive on wire fraud charges and died during an encounter with federal agents.

And at the very least, retaining communications and other records gives historians a way to look back on what led to major policy decisions, Stewart said.

The inspector general’s summary of the superintendent’s office said that “the practice continued until public scrutiny increased,” despite a former member of the executive team expressing concern about “the optics and potential implications of using such an application.”

The summary says that Choudhury considered the Signal messages to be “miscellaneous records that could be discarded as he saw fit,” apparently referring to the department’s records-retention schedule, which provides that “telephone messages” are “miscellaneous records” to be “retain[ed] until no longer needed by the office” and then destroyed. That schedule was most recently revised in 2005, according to a Maryland State Archives database.

The inspector general’s office recommended that the state education department “update its internal policies to address the use of encrypted or ephemeral messaging applications” and develop requirements for retaining work-related messaging data. A spokesperson for the department said it was working on updating those policies.

Crafting a policy to curb the use of such apps is a “tricky, challenging kind of thread,” said Scherb, but it could be as simple as a directive from the top not to use any sort of messaging apps for state business.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson banned the use of a similar app called Confide within the state’s governor’s office — his predecessor, Eric Greitens, was found to be using the app along with his staff, prompting an attorney general’s investigation that ultimately found no wrongdoing. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer once warned his staff that using Confide and Signal was a violation of the Presidential Records Act, though his warning came during a crackdown on leaks to the press.

“It makes you nervous with all these little ones holding on to the wagon, especially with all the cars going by,” Patrick said. “We take a couple steps, then we have to pull over into somebody’s yard or driveway to get out of the way.”

Patrick didn’t anticipate this trek becoming part of her daily routine, having watched the school bus drop kids off within eyesight of her house for years. She started a day care business in her house on Norwich Road four years ago, thinking it would be a good way to stay home with her son while still making an income.

Her son started kindergarten this year at Pasadena Elementary School, and to her surprise, the bus stop near her house wasn’t on the bus schedule for this academic year. She’s not comfortable letting her son walk alone, especially since there’s no sidewalk, and since she runs her business by herself, she can’t leave the day care kids to go pick him up.

The Transportation Division follows National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) guidelines when establishing bus stops, according to Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesperson Bob Mosier. Stops along a route are consolidated to help bus drivers reach school on time. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, buses in this cluster routinely arrived late, causing students to miss instruction, Mosier said.

“The Transportation Division continually reviews and evaluates bus stops throughout the county in order to maximize the efficiency of the overall system,” said Mosier. “In this case, students who live in the transportation area are provided with bus stops that are accessible, safe, and will get them to school on time.”

Bringing all seven kids to the bus stop isn’t a sustainable solution, and Patrick worries about the weather, especially when winter brings darker mornings. She anticipates having to turn away clients with infants.

“I don’t even want to think about pushing the wagon through the snow,” Patrick said. “Who’s gonna want their infant to go out in that kind of weather twice a day?”

Pamela Blades, who lives behind Patrick on Inverness Road, started her own at-home day care, Miss Pam’s Child Care, 25 years ago. The same bus stop Patrick planned to use was once directly in front of her home and would drop her clients at her front stoop. This year, the nearest bus stop is a quarter-mile walk from her home, along a road with no sidewalk.

Blades isn’t willing to haul her entire day care operation to the bus stop. So far, two families have removed their children because they’re uncomfortable with the walk, costing her hundreds of dollars every week. She’s struggling to cope with the financial loss and is sad to lose kids she’s cared for since they were infants.

“My clients refuse to put me in a position where I have to get other children up from nap time and drag them around the block to the corner, so they found other accommodations,” Blades said. “I was crying yesterday because I miss the kids.”

One of those kids is Alyssa Sizemore’s five-year-old daughter. Sizemore preferred Blades’ day care because of the intimate and loving environment she observed there, but she pulled her daughter out because she felt the walk was too dangerous.

“Somebody could observe my daughter walking that path over time and recognize she’s alone. As a mother, you don’t even want to think about what those risks could be,” Sizemore said.

Sizemore and her husband asked for accommodations at work so they could pick their daughter up from the bus stop, but that arrangement is temporary until they can find alternative childcare.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools won’t determine the new bus routes for the next academic year until next summer, leaving Blades and Patrick unsure if their businesses will return to normal.

According to Seattle-based real estate company Redfin, teachers nationwide can afford about 48% of rentals near their schools. That’s up from 41% last year.

“I’m optimistic this could be a trend instead of just a blip because Seattle has been moving in the right direction when it comes to adding housing supply to the market,” Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, said.

The bad news is this is still significantly below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, which were closer to 58%.

Redfin looked at 33 cities and found that new leases are sluggish because there are many units on the market.

Teacher salaries are also up almost 4% from last year. The numbers are even better in Seattle.

“In Seattle in particular, there was an 8% rise in median teacher salaries, so that also adds to teacher buying power when it comes to a rental,” Fairweather said.

In Portland, Oregon, teachers can afford 91% of rentals within commuting distance from their school.

In Miami, it’s less than 1%.

The news isn’t so great for teachers who want to buy homes.

Nationwide, teachers can only afford about 14% of homes near their schools. That number hasn’t changed since last year, but it’s down from 39% in 2019.

More teachers may be able to break into the housing market if interest rates start to drop.

Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.

At least 100 people, most of them young, gathered Sunday evening in Edgewood to remember the 15-year-old, who was fatally shot Friday during a fight at Joppatowne High School.

Through tears, attendees released blue balloons for his favorite color. Some wore shirts that said, “Gone too soon,” as they embraced on the neighborhood basketball court where Grant spent many afternoons.

“He was chill and laid-back and he did not bother nobody,” classmate Natalia Hardy said after the vigil. “He loved basketball. I grew up with him.”

Several people spoke during the vigil and many were crying. Their sentiments were unified. A woman stepped forward and urged the gathered young people to go to school and be successful because that’s what Grant would have wanted everyone to do.

“He kept my son out of trouble. He loved my family, and we love him. We will never forget him. He’s the last person I would ever expect this to happen to,” Viateria Lyons said after the vigil, noting that her son and Grant were close friends.

Vigil for Joppatowne High School student | PHOTOS

The vigil came as Harford County Public Schools decided to close five of its schools for part of the week in response to the shooting and offer counseling services for students.

Joppatowne High will be closed Monday to Wednesday, with the school district saying: “It is our intention to have students return on Thursday.”

The nearby Magnolia Elementary, Magnolia Middle, Joppatowne Elementary and Riverside elementary schools will be closed Monday. Before- and after-school care and activities are canceled at each of the schools but will resume when students return, the system said.

Parents were informed of the closures Saturday evening with Harford County Public Schools writing that “the tragic events of Friday have taken an emotional toll on this community and there is a need for time and space to heal.”

On Sunday evening, HCPS said on its website that school counselors, school psychologists, social workers or other supporting central office staff would be available for students at three locations in Edgewood starting at 10 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until midafternoon: Windsor Valley Community Center, 570 Meadowood Drive; Edgewood Boys and Girls Club, 2002 Cedar Drive; and Edgewood EPI Center, 1918 Pulaski Highway.

The shooting occurred during a fight between two students in a first-floor bathroom at the high school. The 16-year-old suspect allegedly drew a handgun and shot Grant in the chest. Grant was airlifted to an area hospital, where he later died.

Police said the suspect fled school grounds but was later reported to the police for allegedly attempting to break into a house. Responding officers apprehended the suspect.

The suspect is being charged as an adult with murder, first- and second-degree assault, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence. He is being held in the Harford County Detention Center, awaiting an initial appearance before a judicial officer.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said it believes the suspect and victim knew each other and that there isn’t an outstanding suspect or threat to the community.

Dion Guthrie, the councilman for District A, which includes the school, said he plans to evaluate options to improve school safety across the county, but aside from the potential cost of something like metal detectors, he said there are a lot of logistics involved as well.

“Say you put in metal detectors, you have numerous entrances at each school and over 50 schools in the county,” Guthrie said. “Figuring that out and how to pay for it is a lot, so I am looking into all the options we have available.”

Sitting at his home in Joppatowne, as the helicopter carrying Grant flew above the school Friday, Guthrie reflected to when his kids, now adults, were students at Joppatowne High, he said Sunday.

“I think back to when they were there, and sure, things could have happened, but it just seems these things have been happening more frequently across the country,” Guthrie said. “It is certainly a difficult time for everyone, and my thoughts are with the family, the school and the community.”

On Sunday morning, the high school campus was quiet, but a handful of visitors stopped by to pay respects. Some people have left flowers or other tributes. A police car was stationed at the school and moved to different locations around the area about every 20 minutes.

After the vigil, Lyons lamented a lack of spaces in Edgewood for teenagers.

“There is nothing in Edgewood for the kids. There is no programs. There is no nothing. What is there for them to do?” Lyons said. “All we have is empty buildings. What is there for the kids? Where is the boys and girls club out here? Go to Bel Air, go to Fallston go to Aberdeen, there are things for kids to do. Where can kids in Edgewood go and talk and hang out and get a positive message from somebody?

A Facebook post from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office announcing the arrest had drawn more than 530 comments as of Sunday afternoon, with many providing words of sympathy and concerns surrounding gun control and school safety.

“Two lives ended yesterday when they had just barely started. Violence is never the way,” one reads.

Many commenters said they feel the school system should install metal detectors, while others said the solution is responsible gun ownership.

Students from the high school as well as Magnolia, Joppatowne and Riverside elementary schools and Magnolia Middle can pick up bagged lunches at Magnolia Middle and Mariner Point Park, between noon and 1 p.m. Monday, the Harford County Public Schools said Sunday evening. On Tuesday, Joppatowne High students can pick up two-day meal kits at the high school and the Windsor Valley Community Center between noon and 1 p.m.

If a Joppatowne High student needs to collect personal belongings before returning to school Thursday, a school safety liaison will be available to escort them at noon Monday.

Baltimore Sun photographer Lloyd Fox contributed to this article. 

“What an incredible woman,” said Dr. Susan J. Dulkerian, chair of Mercy Medical Center’s Department of Pediatrics.

“Her forte was her calm, kind empathy and demeanor toward her families and students. She was an extremely kind person,” Dr. Dulkerian said.

Celeste Woodward, daughter of Dr. Theodore E. Woodward, a noted University of Maryland medical educator and a Nobel Prize-nominated researcher in infectious diseases, and Dr. Celeste Woodard, a physician, was born in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park.

Dr. Woodward, who always used her maiden name professionally, was a 1964 graduate of Roland Park Country School.

She attended Wellesley College, the University of Pennsylvania Nursing School and the University of Maryland, College Park, but did not earn a bachelor’s degree.

“At Maryland, in her fourth year, they required her to take a course in public speaking, but she didn’t want to do that,” said her daughter, Grace Cleveland of Charlottesville.

Not having a bachelor’s degree did not deter Dr. Woodward from enrolling in medical school at the University of Maryland, from which she graduated in 1972.

While in medical school, she became the first female member of the Rush Medical Club, the oldest student medical club in the country.

She completed both an internship and residency in pediatrics at what was then D.C. Children’s Hospital, now Children’s National Hospital.

From 1974 to 1975, she completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at Maryland.

She was on the pediatric faculty at Maryland from 1975 to 1984 when she joined Mercy Medical Center as a pediatrician and was also an attending physician in the medical center’s outpatient clinic.

While at Mercy, she had a joint appointment at the University of Maryland Medical School, where, as a clinical professor of pediatrics, she continued to train and teach medical students.

“She was the consummate educator. She led by example, and while a woman of few words, they learned plenty from her and that her words meant a lot,” said Dr. Dulkerian.

“It wasn’t uncommon to see trainees or residents having confidential meetings in her office, and I know those confidential conversations meant a great deal to them,” she said.

Dr. Woodward, who was known as “Sis,” retired in 2004.

Roland Park Country School continued to be a thread throughout her lifetime, and in 1998, she became the second woman and first alumna to chair the RPCS board, while becoming the school’s longest-serving trustee.

“She was full of integrity, empathy and had a willingness to work hard. We knew her as a compassionate physician,” said former head of school Jean Waller Brune, RPCS Class of 1960, who headed the school from 1992 to 2016.

“She was a person who lived her ideals. She was an alum of the school and a parent. Her daughter was a graduate of the school,” Ms. Brune said. “Sis was an inspiring person to work with and learn from. She definitely helped me as head of school. She gave sound advice, wisdom and was always willing to listen.”

Prior to moving to Charlottesville some years ago, she and her husband of 52 years, Dr. Mark Applefeld, a retired physician, lived in Poplar Hill, where they graciously hosted RPCS Class of 1964 reunion dinners.

Dr. Woodward was an avid tennis player, reader and baker. She was also an accomplished needlepointer and enjoyed making Christmas ornaments for her grandchildren.

She was a former longtime communicant of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Mount Washington.

A celebration of life gathering for Dr. Woodward will be held on the RPCS campus, 5204 Roland Avenue, at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Sinex Theater.

In addition to her husband and daughter, Dr. Woodward is survived by her son, Lewis Applefeld of Rye, New York; and five grandchildren.

The study shows a growing decline in students’ trust in their institutions’ commitment to protect First Amendment rights, with low-performing schools failing to provide clear policies on free expression.

The 2024 Student Encampment Protests report details the findings of a survey conducted between May and June by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, in conjunction with College Pulse.

FIRE analyzed the responses from 3,803 students enrolled at 30 four-year colleges and universities across the country and then compared them to their recently released College Free Speech Rankings to gauge the impact the protests had on schools’ free speech climate, if any.

Sean Stevens, FIRE’s chief research advisor, told The Center Square that most of the schools were not doing well before the encampments began, but their scores plummeted afterward. He attributes the decline to students’ dissatisfaction with their administrations but says it also reflects a lack of awareness regarding what is permitted.

The analysis indicates most students reported some level of awareness of their school’s speech policies on campus protests. Specifically, 34% said they were at least “somewhat” aware, 29% “not very” aware, and 19% “not at all” aware.

While a majority of students are aware actions like creating petitions and holding peaceful marches are allowed, over 10% were unsure or believe such activities are prohibited. Similarly, most students said they understand that encampments, occupying buildings, and defacing property are not permitted, but 10% to 20% are uncertain, indicating a lack of clarity on the policies.

One notable finding was a record number of deplatforming attempts.

In 2023, 156 were recorded, of which 54 involved a controversy over expression concerning Israel or Palestine. This year to date, of the 110 recorded, there were 75. Until Oct. 7, the issue accounted for 11% of all deplatforming attempts. Since then, related attempts have accounted for 54%.

Other key findings include:

• Almost three-quarters of students said it is at least “rarely” acceptable to establish an encampment as part of a protest on campus, and 59% said the same about occupying buildings.
• Over half of Muslim students feel freedom of speech is “not at all” or “not very” secure on campus, and 48% feel “very” or “somewhat” unsafe due to police response to encampments nationwide.
• Roughly a quarter of Jewish students said their right to freedom of speech is “not at all” or “not very” secure (27%), feel “very” or “somewhat” unsafe on campus (28%), and find the police response to encampments makes them feel “very” or “somewhat” unsafe (26%).
• One-third of liberal students said the right to freedom of speech is “not at all” or “not very” secure on campus, whereas 26% of moderate and 17% of conservative students said the same.

Stevens noted the difference between protected and unprotected speech, explaining that while campus administrations are within their rights to crack down on disruptive behavior, it is their responsibility to establish speech policies, communicate them clearly, and apply them consistently and fairly – something the underperforming schools have not done.

“Students are seeing the enforcement not being viewpoint neutral,” he added.

The report cautions that the war between Israel and Hamas and the upcoming presidential election are a combustible situation, and protests on campus this fall seem inevitable.

FIRE suggests administrators and faculty educate students on the school’s speech policies, how to engage in lawful protest methods, and model civil discourse and dialog across differences. They must also ensure expressive activity policies are clear and consistent and apply them without violating students’ constitutional rights.

While no Pennsylvania schools were included in the report, the University of Pennsylvania made headlines this year after a weekslong pro-Palestine encampment caused uproar. On Aug. 26, the campus temporarily banned overnight demonstrations.

The Green Prairie Independent School District canceled classes on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as multiple after-school events and extracurriculars. The City of Green Prairie earlier that day acknowledged the contaminant and encouraged residents not to use tap water.

The school district noted that grab-and-go lunches would be made available for students. City workers also distributed free bottled water to residents while officials worked to remedy the situation.

The city’s most recent update as of Thursday afternoon said its aviation director was delivering water samples to a lab in Corpus Christi.

Green Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen explained in a press conference the contaminant entered the water after firefighters used an environmentally friendly foam to extinguish a large fire.

“We may or may not have to go to a boil, which in my opinion is critical,” he said. “When you lose water pressure, there’s an automatic boil notice.”

Jensen explained the foam is nontoxic and will not cause irritation to eyes or skin. The do-not-use warning, he said, was out of an abundance of caution.

“We haven’t had any calls of anybody getting sick,” he said. “I’ve got to assume people showered in it last night. I’ve got to assume we had some people drink it. We have had no incidents of anybody having any health issues.”

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The Federal Reserve released the “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2023” report. It shows more than 40% of those who majored in social and behavioral sciences, humanities and arts, life sciences and law regret their studies the most.

“The fields that seem to have the most dissatisfaction are ones that either don’t have clear career paths, can’t tie directly to what they would be doing after college, or are ones where the field is going to result in a low-paying job,” explained David Dillard, CEO of KD College Prep.

Grads who studied health, computer information sciences and engineering are least likely to regret their major.

“Any field where there are abundant job opportunities will become popular,” Dillard said. “There are a lot of people who are wired for STEM jobs and careers, but there are a lot of people chasing it because they’ve heard it’s a good thing to do, not because they are necessarily interested in it.”

Even so, education was largely seen as a path to higher income and greater financial well-being. Most adults who completed a bachelor’s degree or higher said it was worth the cost.

Only 27% of engineering graduates would now choose a different field of study. It is the least regretted field, and salary could be a reason. Government data shows the average salary is over $90,000, above the overall average salary of $48,060.

Another survey from ZipRecruiter shows journalism is the most regretted major, with 87% of grads wishing they had chosen something else. Dillard said if you regret your studies, you should take time to understand how you are wired.

“What do I hope to achieve? What do I want my life to look like? Where are my passions, interests, aspirations, and what could I do to pursue those?”

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