LinkedIn announced Monday it's opening its social network to high school students.

The portal is known for connecting business professionals to jobs and career opportunities. Its new initiative called "University Pages" will open LinkedIn's doors to teens to help them prepare for college. Students may explore universities worldwide, engage alumni, expand opportunities and build their network. 

The initiative begins Sept. 12 and is open to teens at least 14 years-old.

Villanova University is among the 200 universities with LinkedIn profiles that students may navigate for education pursuits and future career use. 

Christina Allen of the Bay Area began the initiative three years ago after her daughter went through the college search process. Allen believed there had to be a better way to connect students with prospective colleges and help them "find their paths."

Allen said, "I knew that hidden in millions of member profiles were powerful insights about the career outcomes of educations from universities around the world. If harnessed, these insights could provide incredible value for students – helping them explore possible futures and build a support network to help them succeed on campus and beyond."

This new teen opportunity has drawn criticism by Josh Constine of TechCrunch. He believes childhood may be lost to LinkedIn.

Constine says, "Childhood used to be a time of self-exploration, but the Internet is pushing kids to define themselves early and put that facade on display." 

LinkedIn calls itself the world's largest professional network with more than 238 million members in over 200 countries, and is available in 20 languages. 

According to LinkedIn, University Pages will offer regular updates about campus news and activities from the schools themselves. Students may engage with both the campus community and alumni of schools.

Contact Sarah Glover at 610-668-5580, sarah.glover@nbcuni.com or follow @skyphoto on Twitter.

The beginning of a new school year is right around the corner and many teachers are still working to gather the school supplies they need for their classrooms.

“The District only gives you $100, so getting the rest of the supplies you need, is on you,” says Sara Landman, a Special Education teacher at Alexander K. McClure Elementary in the Hunting Park section of the city. “I spend $500, maybe $1000 a year on supplies,”

And after years of putting out their own money, Landman, like other so many other teachers, is turning to the internet, various charities, even beer, to get the supplies needed for the year. 

Mary Beth Hertz, a blogger and 9th grade art and technology teacher at the Science Leadership Academy, says she’s been fundraising for seven or eight years. Turning first to DonorsChoose.org, a website designed to help students in need.

The site, created in 2000 by a social studies teacher from the Bronx, makes it easy for public school teachers to log on, create a classroom project and give it a price. It’s even easier for anyone who wants to help fund a particular project to give.

DonorsChoose then takes the money and purchases the needed supplies from one of their venders. 

While donations made on DonorsChoose.org, did help Hertz obtain the headphones she needed for all her students, there is, she says, a catch -- When you leave the school where you were teaching at the time you received the donation, you can’t take it with you.

“I had to leave behind the headphones because anything you get through DonorsChoose.org is property of the school,” according to Hertz.

Still, some see that as a small price to pay for saving money in the short term.

Hertz has also used a site that is no longer in service called ChipIn.com. ChipIn served as an easy way to raise money for, well, anything. All she had to do was post her project on her blog page and using Paypal accounts, people made donations.

A short time, and more than $1000 later, Hertz was able to fully fund all the robots for her new Robotic’s Club.

And although ChipIn is no longer in existence, Hertz’s Robotics Club still is.

Teachers are also using the ‘net to make money in other ways, not by simply asking for donations, but to promote events, such as happy hour fundraisers like “Sock It to Us,” an event that raised money for back-to-school supplies for Hackett Elementary in Kensington. The event was held at a bar and restaurant nearby, and for every beer sold, the bar donated $1 to the cause.

Other teachers have used programs like The Philadelphia Reads Book Bank. The Book Bank provides books for classrooms in Philadelphia. Some have gone the physical fitness route – running and walking --to raise money for their school’s supplies and extra-curriculars.

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In June, teachers, students and alumni ran around J.R. Masterman High in the Spring Garden section of the city, raising around $26,000.

A few months earlier, Masterman’s Home and School Association ran an auction that brought in $50,000 for the school.

Some of the money was used for school supplies such as smart boards, computers, books, even pens and pencils. Teachers simply submitted applications asking for their classroom materials.

“It all depends on what the teachers need,” Masterman’s outgoing Home and School Association President Angelina Williams said. “They’re with the students every day and they know what they need better than we do.

If you are interest in supporting a classroom or want to find out what are the needs at your child’s school, you can check out websites like DonorsChoose.org or Adoptaclassroom.org or simply talk to your child’s teacher.
 

Parents and guardians of students at Archbishop Carroll High School received a disturbing letter in the mail.

The letter states that the school's cross country track coach was placed on administrative leave and suspended without pay after the school learned of an alleged inappropriate relationship with an underage student. The letter was sent out on Tuesday.

The coach was relieved of all duties within the Archdiocese Monday afternoon, according to a draft of the letter obtained by NBC10.

The alleged victim, according to the letter, is not a current Carroll student. The Archdiocese also says the coach was not a teacher and was not coaching at other Catholic schools.

The school says that they were made aware of the "troubling situation," by the Pennsylvania Department of Child and Youth Services.

No charges have been filed at this time. The archdiocese says the coach has been at Archbishop Carroll High School for ten years.

The school's cross country team will continue under the guidance of the assistant coach.

"I know the coach and he seemed like a good enough guy," said Kevin Curley, Archbishop Carroll's soccer coach.

Two years ago, Archbishop Carroll Athletic Director Fran Murphy was arrested and charged with having inappropriate sexual contact with a former male student. Since Murphy's arrest, Curley says training for coaches has increased, with an emphasis on keeping healthy boundaries with students and being careful with all communications.

"When we send an email, we're supposed to CC a specific email account," Curley said. "It's common sense."

Officials with Child and Youth Services, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and Radnor Police are all investigating the situation.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

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Police are searching for a man who they say flashed a woman after asking her to have sex with him.

Police say a 38-year-old woman heard a knock at her door while she was inside her home in Wilmington last Friday shortly after 11 p.m. When she answered it she was met by a man who asked to use her phone, according to investigators.

After the woman refused to let him use her phone, police say the man asked if she wanted to have sex with him. As the woman tried to close her door, the man allegedly exposed his genitals before running away. The woman immediately contacted police.

The suspect is described as a dark skinned black male with short, curly black hair and light facial hair. Police say he was wearing a black shirt and camouflage shorts.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Wilmington Police at 302-576-3162.

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A police officer is recovering after a car accident in Upper Darby.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood says the officer, who has not yet been identified, was responding to a call for a stolen vehicle in Springfield. As he drove, his police cruiser was struck by another vehicle at State Road and Miller Avenue.

The officer was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The driver who crashed into the police vehicle was taken into custody. Chitwood says the driver appeared to be intoxicated and that he underwent a toxicology test. No charges have been filed at this time as police continue to investigate.

Both the driver's father and brother contacted NBC10. The father claimed his son was not drunk but that police also informed him his son may be charged with DUI. According to the father, the driver "hasn't had a drink in nine years."

The driver's brother also claimed he wasn't drunk and was instead "sleep-deprived" at the time of the crash.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

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Three men are in custody and a young boy is alive thanks in part to the actions of a quick-thinking neighbor.

Police say a 13-year-old boy was by himself inside his Upper Darby home around 11:30 a.m. on Monday when he heard a noise. As he went to check, the boy says he saw two men climbing through a window as another man waited below.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told Philly.com that the boy tried to grab a phone to call 911. As he went for it, one of the suspects, identified as 28-year-old Daniel Taylor, allegedly held a gun to his head and told him to “chill out.”

Chitwood says Taylor forced the boy downstairs and made him shut off the house alarm, according to Philly.com. Taylor then allegedly opened the door of the house and let two other men, identified by police as 25-year-old Terreek Irving and 27-year-old Imanuel Forbes, inside.

“This is what I describe as an urban terrorist,” Chitwood said. “Broad daylight, they go into a house, there’s an alarm, they climb into a window, and put a gun to the back of the 13-year-old kid’s head.”

Investigators say a neighbor watched as the break-in took place and called police. Police officers quickly arrived at the house and arrested the three suspects. The boy was not hurt.

Chitwood told Philly.com that the boy recognized Forbes as one of two men who tried to break into his home last July. The boy says he was also home alone at that time but the men ran off before entering the home.

“These guys are not picking these houses at random,” Chitwood said. “There was a specific reason they went to that house. We’ve got to find out what that was.”

Chitwood told Philly.com that the suspects claimed the boy’s stepfather owed one of them money. They also allegedly claimed the stepfather may be in possession of marijuana. Upper Darby Police say they didn’t find any signs of drugs or illegal activities inside the home however.

All three men are charged with robbery, terroristic threats and other related offenses. They are each being held on $100,000 bail.

For Sharon Pearson, there's hardly a ride she takes on the Market-Frankford El where she isn’t hit up for money by a panhandler.

“A lot of them are like really aggressive, because you’ll tell them ‘No, no thank you,’ and they’ll just stand there and there’s one lady in particular that’s just over the top,” the West Philadelphia resident said.

Pearson takes the 46 Bus and Market-Frankford El to her government job on the other side of the city every afternoon and makes her way home at midnight. She says panhandlers almost always ask her for cash and often get into her personal space, making her uncomfortable.

“Some of them, you’ll offer them the food and they’ll take the food and they’ll throw it down and say ‘I don’t want this,’” she said. “I think it’s definitely gotten worse.”

She’s not alone.

Lloyd Howard filed his complaint about the serial beggars with SEPTA’s top cop on Twitter:

@TNestel3 hey chief can something be done about the beggars on the EL? Tired of hearing someone else's hard luck lie during my commute. Thx

— Lloyd Howard (@Howard2Lloyd) June 24, 2013

SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel says the stories are “frustrating” to hear for him and the department because officers frequently cite aggressive panhandlers, but a current Philadelphia Municipal Court rule is enabling repeat offenders.

“Our more aggressive panhandlers never have any repercussions for their actions because they don’t come to court, we can’t get a stay away order and they never pay the fines, but no warrant is ever issued,” he said.

Under court Rule 1002, people charged with criminal ordinance violations can be tried without being in court. The rule was amended in 2010 to cut down on a flood of backlogged bench warrants.

Chief Nestel says the panhandlers are typically found guilty in absentia and fined. However, he says there’s no follow up to enforce the fines or hold the individuals accountable for failing to pay. The chief says the rule, which is meant to expedite cases, is hampering his department's efforts to combat the problem.

“They’re expediting justice, but they’re not completing justice, they’re not fulfilling justice,” Chief Nestel said. “We have people who have 15 offenses against them and they’ll be out there today.”

For the first three months of this year, SEPTA Police made an average of 16 panhandling arrests a month. Officials say half the time, the panhandlers are repeat offenders who've also been charged with crimes like trespassing, harassment and disorderly conduct. The chief says he’d much rather bar them from the system and send them to the sidewalk, where panhandling is permitted, than put them in jail.

“On a city street you can keep on walking away from that person, on our vehicles, you’re stuck there. The person keeps on badgering,” Chief Nestel said.

SEPTA has been targeting quality-of-life issues on the transit system that serves an average of 830,000 riders every weekday. SEPTA officers are citing people more than ever for issues like smoking, public urination, public intoxication, littering and panhandling. So far in 2013, the department handed out more than 4,500 quality-of-life citations – a two-fold increase over 2012.

Chief Nestel says the court has been helpful with handling the jump in cases, but would like some type of threshold to be enacted so that action can be taken when repeat offenders fail to appear in court.

“It’s frustrating for that rider, it’s frustrating for us, it’s frustrating for the court to see 19 cases that there’s never a resolution to,” he said.

In a statement, the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania says warrants can be issued for offenses like panhandling, but that the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office needs to request it.

“The judge would have no knowledge of prior contacts for the same offenses and/or past failures to appear, or to think that a sentence of incarceration may be warranted,” the statement read in part. “It is the FJD's position that the responsibility to handle a particular individual’s case differently begins with SEPTA. If SEPTA is aware of a repeat offender who continues to return to panhandling, SEPTA should make this information known to the [District Attorney’s Office]."

No matter where the warrant request comes from, Sharon Pearson is hoping something can be done soon.

“I just want a peaceful ride,” she says.

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

Tiffany Collins had just dropped the trash on the curb outside her South Philadelphia home Monday morning when she turned to find a surly sight -- a city sanitation worker urinating into a bottle in an alley across the street.

“Actually, I laughed. I thought, are you serious? You’re supposed to be cleaning up the block and then you’re going and urinating along the street,” she said.

Dumbfounded by the worker’s brash choice to publicly use the restroom along her block of S. Croskey Street, the mother of three young kids grabbed her smart phone and started recording.

“It’s like a slap in the face. It’s bad enough to live around the violence in this neighborhood,” she said.

When he’s finished, the man can be seen twisting on the cap to the bottle he just urinated in and then tossing it back into the alley. He then heads up the street to his trash truck.

“He picked up his gloves and just kept on doing his job like nothing happened,” she said. “Just all around sickening. My children don’t need to see something like that.”

Collins called the unidentified worker’s actions a “slap in the face” to the street’s homeowners. She says the residents are hardworking and often clean the street.

“I try to keep my block as clean as possible for my children…the outside represents the inside of the home, that’s the way I was raised,” she said.

NBC10.com shared Collins’ video with the Philadelphia Streets Department Tuesday. In a statement, spokeswoman June Cantor said the department was “appalled” by the staffer’s actions.

“Our department’s mission is to continuously provide clean and safe streets. Quality of life is very important to us as a department and division,” the statement read in part. “The employee has been identified and notified of the intent to discipline. On behalf of the Streets Department and the City of Philadelphia, we extend a humble apology.”

To further apologize for the man’s actions, the Streets Department sent a crew to the block Tuesday afternoon to clean up the alley where he urinated.

Cantor said the department has a policy requiring crews use a bathroom in a public building while on the street. She says workers are well-informed about the rule.

The department has cited the worker for urinating in public and littering and he will, at a minimum, be suspended for several days without pay.

Asked whether the worker should be fired, Collins said no.

“I think everyone deserves a second chance. It’s hard enough for people to find a job as it is,” she said.

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

At least one person is in the hospital after a serious car accident on I-495 in Wilmington.

Police say two vehicles collided on 495 northbound on the Christina River Bridge. One person was taken to the hospital by helicopter to Christiana Hospital Trauma Center with serious injuries.

I-495 northbound was completely closed at Terminal Avenue for a few hours. All lanes reopened shortly after 5 p.m.

Stay with NBC10.com for more info on this developing story.

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A man is dead after officials say he was shot by a police officer in North Philadelphia.

Police say the 22nd District Officer was trying to stop a 2001 Buick LeSabre in the area of 17th and Glenwood shortly after 7:30 p.m. Police say the driver of the Buick refused to stop and accelerated. Police pursued the car and called in for backup.

During the chase, investigators say the Buick crashed into a minivan carrying a family of five before striking a building on 22nd and Glenwood.

The passenger of the car, an unidentified 19-year-old man, allegedly got out of the Buick with a weapon in his hand and pointed it at the police officer. Investigators say the officer took out his own weapon and fired, striking the 19-year-old man several times in the torso.

The man was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:56 p.m.  A woman claiming to be the man's sister identified him as Aaron McDaniels. She also told NBC10 she did not believe her brother would ever point a gun at a police officer. Police would not confirm the name of the suspect. They do say however that the suspect had an extensive criminal history.

Police say they recovered a semi-automatic handgun and a revolver from the suspect. They also took the driver of the Buick into custody.

No police officers or civilians were injured in the incident. Both Internal Affairs and the District Attorney's Office are investigating the shooting.

The officer involved will be placed on administrative duty pending the investigation.

It's been less than a week since Ryne Sandberg has taken the helm from deposed manager Charlie Manuel, and so far, he seems intent on making changes to a team that has spent much of this and last season under the .500 mark.

First, he seems to have installed Carlos Ruiz as the number two hitter, thanks in part to the catcher's ability to get on base better than most over the past few seasons. While he has struggled to repeat that success this year, it's not the worst idea from the new skipper. Second, Sandberg addressed Jimmy Rollins' struggles on Tuesday, and spoke publicly about the adjustments needed for the shortstop to become more of an impact player. Courtesy of Ryan Lawrence from The Daily News.

I would like him not to focus on hitting home runs. Anytime that I hit a home run, it was an accident. It was a perfect swing that I caught out in front, square up and was just underneath just a little bit. What I think for Jimmy at the top of the lineup with his speed and his baserunning and as good as he is as a baserunner, he’s got to get on base. I don’t think him focusing on hitting 15 to 20 home runs in the right approach for him. If he wants to score 100 runs per year, I think that’s the proper approach — not hitting solo home runs. That’s any guy at the top of the order- that’s making the pitcher come to him and if you get your walks, battle in your at-bats and try to get on base. He has enough pop to hit the ball in the gaps and get his doubles, so I think for me and keeping a line drive stroke and improving the on-base percentage. That’s what the team needs.

This, right here, is where Ryne Sandberg can really, truly make a difference with this ball club. The talent, at least for right now, isn't going to get any better. Some pieces, like Ben Revere, will get healthier, but the Phillies don't have a glut of can't-miss prospects ready to take the field in 2014. The 25-man roster in 2013 is going to look awfully similar to the 25-man roster in 2014, barring some incredible turnover in the front office sometime between now and then.

And Sandberg knows this. It doesn't take a fortune teller to realize that the future might be bleak, so he ought to start making the best with what he has. While some players might not need much guidance, others are going to need an awful lot. Still, then, there will be players occupying some middle ground of a varying level of utility. These are the players that can go either way during a season, and they are the ones that can help to revitalize the club. One of them is Ryan Howard, who would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Adam Dunn by adjusting his approach to counter the defensive alignment that has made him largely impotent as an offensive threat.

With Rollins, Sandberg hit the nail on the head. The best way that he can provide value to the team, at his age, is by getting on base. He's not a power threat any more, and if he wants to continue to be a mainstay at the top of the order, then he needs to have a much better plate approach, even if that means trading long balls for long at-bats.

What I am most impressed with is that Sandberg is putting an emphasis on the team's on-base percentage. Say what you want about power, or about batting average, but having a roster full of players who can work the count and draw a walk and consistently get on base is what is going to win baseball games. Ruben Amaro has been pretty clear on what he thinks about on-base percentage, and it is awfully refreshing to have a manager who seems to think a little bit differently on the subject.

A man and a woman are in custody after police say they both were carrying knives while at the Philadelphia International Airport.

TSA officials say they found a knife concealed inside a female passenger’s carry-on bag on a U.S. Airways flight around 11 a.m.

TSA officials found the knife through their scanners and took the woman into custody, according to investigators. She was then taken by Philadelphia Police.

Police also say a 42-year-old man tried to enter through a checkpoint for a Southwest Airlines flight around 5:30 p.m. while carrying a spring loaded switchblade. TSA officials say they spotted the knife during the screening process.

The man was taken to police headquarters for processing.

Police have not yet revealed the identities of the two suspects.

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Residents of the Somerton community in Northeast Philadelphia where the body of 19-year-old shooting victim Daquan Crump was discovered, say they never thought such a heinous crime could occur right in their backyard.

"That's totally shocking," France DeJesus said. "We're pretty much always close -- the neighbors -- we always gather together and stuff like that. So believe me, it shocked us that none of us didn't hear nothing. When you've been here 20 years, you know your noise and we didn't hear nothing. It's just shocking to hear that a young male died like that, you know."

DeJesus lives across the street from where Crump's body was discovered Monday by a construction worker around 7:20 a.m. at the former site of Black Red White Furniture on the 10000 block of Northeast Avenue. Police say he was shot 10 to 12 times in the face and head.

Sam Lepera, who has lived in the neighborhood for 18 years, said the crime was both unusually violent and unusual to his neighborhood.

"If you ask me, it was overkill," Lepera said. "I mean, it’s quiet here. We've got cops living in this neighborhood. This is just not appropriate for this area; not a murder like that."

According to Philadelphia Police Department data, this is the third homicide reported this year in the 7th police district, which covers the Somerton neighborhood.

On June 27, police responded to a call about a burning vehicle on the 2300 block of Woodward Avenue, less than three miles from where Crump's body was discovered. They later found human remains inside of the trunk of the burning car. And in April of this year, officers dispatched to the 2200 block of Rhawn Street were directed to the deceased body of an 8-month-old infant, later identified as Brandon Schaible.

Despite these incidents, residents say they generally feel safe in Somerton.

But employees of Compass Industries -- whose building neighbors the construction site where Crump's body was found -- say the graffiti-ridden, littered lot is a scary place to work beside.

"It's shocking that it happened, but not that shocking," Compass employee Stacy Wilson said. "I mean, I'm not surprised. It's a mess over there. People dump a lot of trash over there. That's why we had to put up barriers. With all the trees and everything, it's creepy out there at night."

Compass manager Lou Pompilio said an incident like this was bound to happen in the neglected lot.

"We've always said it's just a matter of time before somebody gets killed back here. We knew it was gonna happen," Pompilio said.

Department of Licenses and Inspections spokesman Rebecca Swanson says, the construction site, located across the street from the sporting fields of George Washington High School, has numerous violations listed.

"We cited them back in April for having trash at the site and they've had multiple cases open for the trash and the weeds," Swanson said.

According to Swanson, the property owner will be taken to court if the violations are not in compliance by the third inspection, which is pending. And ultimately, Swanson said, the upkeep of the property is the responsibility of the property owner.

"L&I's role is to inspect and to write violations when they are found. If there is a property maintenance issue, it always goes back to the owner of the property and they have to be responsible for taking care of their property and that's really what it comes down to," she said.

Crump, a recent graduate and former junior varsity basketball player at George Washington High, was a jovial teen according to his family.

"He was a pleasant kid; he was always smiling. I never really see him and anyone getting into a fight,” Crump’s stepfather Kareem Kaba said. “Every time he was at the house he was always playing video games with his brother.”

A threat posted on Crump’s Facebook page ten days ago revealed an argument between Crump and another young male.

Kaba says he doesn’t know the details of the spat but said police are looking into the quarrel.

"With the altercation, we really don't even know why or what was the reasoning or what went down between them, but the police are working on that now,” he said. “He really wasn't one of the kids that was all over the place and it’s just sad to see such a thing happen."