K-12 News

The East Penn School Board gave final approval to its 2023-24 budget and set a tax rate lower than initial projections. The new budget retains administrative priorities such as 7 reading interventionists and 6 learning support staffers.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

The Allentown School District said the STREAM Academy at the new science center at Eighth and Hamilton streets will be the first non-charter, non-private, theme-based school in the Lehigh Valley.

For 50 years, Ray Boris taught Theology at Bethlehem Catholic High School. He showed up shortly after 6 a.m. every day and didn't leave until he graded the last test.

The Bethlehem Area School District plans to appoint Maureen Leeson as assistant superintendent and chief academic officer, to take the place of Jack Silva, who will be the next superintendent. Esther Lee, president of the Bethlehem NAACP, said the district should have hired a Black candidate.

State House Democrats approved adding $1.7 billion more education spending, including more money to the poorest districts. The final budget will be negotiated with Senate leaders and the governor's office.

The nonprofit Community Action Lehigh Valley has worked for about two years to buy Cleveland Elementary School so it can turn into space for area youth.

The Lehigh County Conservation District and Dieruff High School are partnering to transform a vacant courtyard at the school into an urban garden.

A team of students from Bangor Area High School placed ninth in this year's statewide Envirothon competition, essentially a scholastic scrimmage for environmental science. The team placed first for the wildlife station.

The 21st Century program is to help students with academic support and art and music enrichment.

A judge in Pennsylvania found the public school funding system to be unconstitutional. But that doesn't guarantee change for poorer school districts.

Some spoke about the need for recovery houses, and others spoke about the potential harm it could bring to the children.

Parents aren't the only ones frustrated. One bus driver says students acting out causes drivers to quit, creating high turnover rates. A number of school districts are negotiating new bus driver contracts.

Some students say they see parallels between Till's murder and recent killings of people of color by police. They participated in a Black History Month presentation at Dieruff High School.

Students gathered to cheer for the Emmaus High School graduate who joined the Eagles at the start of the season. The team is in Arizona getting ready to play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

Lehigh Valley lawmakers and educators were quick to react. One lawmaker said it was a victory for children in poorer school districts such as Allentown.

The beverage products at all 22 schools in the Bethlehem Area School District were thrown away after the discovery, according to a letter from Superintendent Joseph Roy.

Kimberly Lipsky Weidman reads her book to kids at Muhlenberg Elementary School.

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Some districts say it's a constant struggle to staff the positions.

Students at Bethlehem Catholic High School will be getting free laptops, thanks to a donation from the John and Kathy Feehan Foundation.

Allentown police say Dieruff High School was locked down after they received information that a student brought the gun inside the school Wednesday.