# How a Vacant School Building Became a Symbol of Loss, and Then Hope, for a Dying Small Town

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475/how-a-vacant-school-building-became-a-symbol-of-loss-and-then-hope-for-a-dying-small-town
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475/how-a-vacant-school-building-became-a-symbol-of-loss-and-then-hope-for-a-dying-small-town.md
Podcast: [This Week with EdSurge](https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475)
Published: 2025-01-15T00:40:29+00:00
Episode link: https://www.edsurge.com/podcasts
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/84cac3fc-aee4-434b-be63-379138f0151c.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3255

## Resource

When the only school in Donora, Pennsylvania, closed a few years ago, it hit the town’s residents hard. Now the building may be the town’s best hope, as a community college considers setting up in the former school. A University of Pittsburgh professor spent three years documenting life in this fading town for an unusual podcast series that ran late last year. Education was a key theme. On this week's EdSurge Podcast, we talk to the professor about her takeaways for the role of education in the many forgotten small towns around the U.S.

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