K-12 News

Nancy A. Walker, Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor & Industry, was in Allentown on Thursday to announce $4.2 million in Industry Partnership grants for projects statewide that will prepare state workers and high school seniors for family-sustaining jobs.

Bethlehem school board looks to take action on Feb. 26 regarding the $1,291,075 purchase of 2,500 Google Chromebooks, including styluses and chargers for each device.

To meet security and safety concerns, a security officer may be on the way to each of East Penn School District's middle Schools.

A change.org petition opposing the new mascot chosen by the Whitehall-Coplay School District has attracted more than 1,200 signatures. The mascot, named Big Z, is so named in honor of the school name Zephyr, which was also a train that once ran through Whitehall Township.

Several Lehigh Valley schools are closing Tuesday because of the weather forecast.

Five Lehigh Valley schools have rifle teams that compete in the Northeast Pennsylvania Rifle League. Says one student: “We want to get more people involved and show it’s totally safe. Sometimes, our sport gets a bad rap because of what’s going on (in the world).”

Parkland School District Social Worker Diane Irish has begun hosting office hours for the Parkland REACH Village, a gathering space and community hub of information for anyone who lives in the district.

The Allentown School Board approved updates to programs that add new language and career training options for students. Some of the changes are the result of a survey of more than 1,800 high school students and focus groups, officials said.

Officials from the Allentown school district spoke with hesitant optimism about the benefits the state's new spending plan could bring to the district.

Away from the fields and courts used by thousands of student-athletes, some Lehigh Valley schools for decades have maintained rifle teams. The Northeast Pennsylvania Rifle League is made up of 11 teams including the Lehigh Valley's Emmaus, Freedom, Liberty, Salisbury and Southern Lehigh high schools.

After implementing weapons detectors at its high schools, Allentown School District started using the machines at its four middle schools Monday.

The Bethlehem Area School District is getting $2 million in federal rebates to buy 10 more electric school buses. Officials expect the buses to be in service next school year.

In response to an audit report on equity and inclusion commissioned by the Allentown School District, Superintendent Carol Birks says lasting change requires consistent leadership, trust and time.

Representatives from left-leaning political groups gathered to raise alarm about the political donations of Pennsylvania's richest man, billionaire Jeff Yass, to right-wing super-PACs. They are accusing him of using his own funds to interfere with democracy, and say his interest in private schools could cause inequity.

The school board will have a special meeting 6 p.m. Oct. 28 to discuss the financing of the Moore and East Allen elementary school projects.

The book festival will feature workshops, poetry, lectures by authors and discussions on the environment, LGBTQ rights, diversity and the steel industry. It runs through Sunday at various locations in the city.

Parkland administrators issue public statements after former performing arts director Frank Anonia was jailed Tuesday after being charged with secretly recording a student changing in a dressing room.

Francis 'Frank' Anonia, 43, was charged by Lehigh County detectives with multiple counts of invasion of privacy, criminal use of a communication facility and other offenses, according to court records.

A recently released equity audit concluded Allentown School District needs to streamline inclusive practices across the district to better serve students of color.

The Allentown Symphony Association's El Sistema program is expanding to a new school to offer more student opportunities.

The Pennsylvania House Education Committee held a hearing on school safety and security in Harrisburg on Thursday. State Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, leads the committee.

Lessons in hands-on healthy eating — and growing food locally — are in the near future of some younger students in Lehigh County.