K-12 News

Some Lehigh Valley school districts are seeing an increase in chronic absenteeism and truancy following the COVID-19 pandemic. And what was already an issue before COVID appears to have reached a level of urgency in some schools.

The Allentown School District made school uniforms optional this year for the first time since 2013.

Schools in the Lehigh Valley are about to start. Here's a roundup of the 17 school district's important dates and things to note.

Bethlehem Area School District teachers hit the streets on the city's South Side to help students feel comfortable transitioning to a new school experience.

A federal court judge is allowing the assistant principal who filed the civil rights lawsuit to amend his complaint. It stemmed from an altercation at a high school football game last fall.

Last year, Bethlehem Area and Allentown school districts were waitlisted to get rebate funding through the Clean School Bus program. Another round of applications for this fiscal year is open until later this month.

The Parkland School District now has two final options for how it will address projected overcrowding in its schools. A decision could come within the next two months.

The school was designated with a state Targeted Support and Improvement designation due to lagging performance by its cohort of economically disadvantaged students. Officials laid out plans to improve the issues present.

The new makerspace at Slatington Elementary School will help students learn STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) skills. It will primarily be used by an after school program called Schools & Homes In Education, or SHINE.

House Education Committee Chair Peter Schweyer said Level Up funding should be released immediately.

New Nazareth Superintendent Isabel Resende will receive a prorated $205,000 salary for the 2024-2025 school year. She has worked for the district for 16 years.

The Nazareth Area School Board voted to promote Assistant Superintendent Isabel Resende to the district's top spot Tuesday evening. Resende will take over after the district approved a separation agreement with Superintendent Richard Kaskey Tuesday.

East Penn administrators heard a presentation on curriculum changes proposed to the district's Math and English programs, with the hopes they can remap to updated standards and meet learning acquisition and scoring challenges post-COVID.

Anthony Pidgeon, the former Allentown School District director of human resources, testified Jason Moorehead couldn't return to the classroom after posting distasteful political memes on social media following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol Building.

Allentown School District's OneAllentown Back-to-School Bash was designed to show parents the caring nature of those who will prepare their children for their future.

The district is introducing new set of district policies governing the use and expectations regarding generative artificial intelligence, giving them a basis to train students and staff.

The Fountain Hill Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend approving plans for a new Fountain Hill Elementary School.

Improvements at aging Steckel Elementary School and Whitehall-Coplay Middle School will begin with window replacements.

Several Allentown schools need performance support, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. A presentation was given to the Allentown School Board at this week's meeting.

Allentown School District’s solicitor is developing a proposed policy for how ASD manages relationships with outside organizations.

Jason Moorehead, a former social studies teacher at Raub Middle School, testified for hours in this week as his lawsuit against the Allentown School District plays out in federal court.

Jason Moorehead, a former social studies teacher at Raub Middle School, claimed Allentown School District violated his constitutional rights to free speech, assembly and political affiliation.