K-12 News

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.

Hundreds gathered Tuesday night in Dieruff’s cafeteria for a community forum on the proposal to overhaul Andre Reed Park in Allentown's East Side.

The Nitschmann Middle School Lions softball team and Calypso Elementary could soon be able to use the softball field at 11th Avenue and Spring Street in West Bethlehem.

You Are The Light is a recognition program in the Allentown School District that celebrates staff and students. The district selects honorees each month to be featured on LehighValleyNews.com.

Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed increasing basic education funding by $1.1 billion, laying the groundwork to slash tuition costs at state-owned schools and taking out a $500 million bond to spur economic development.

Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School officials are discussing a planned expansion, with options ranging from $22.1 million to $43.1 million. The entire process would take about three years once initially approved.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, state parks across Pennsylvania were inundated with visitors.

State officials late last month announced the theme for this year’s annual tick-themed art contest, “Protect. Check. Remove.” Last year, there were no winners in the Lehigh Valley.

Allentown families dusted off their backpacks and lunch boxes as elementary students returned to in-person learning on April 19. They’ve been virtual for more than a year.

As of April 13, elementary students in the Bethlehem Area School District are back in class four days a week more than a year after the pandemic began.

Now that Congress has passed the new COVID relief plan, state and local governments are learning whether they can use the money for roads and county health bureaus.

When the pandemic forced traditional schools to go remote, interest in the Commonwealth’s cyber charter schools surged. Enrollments went way up, and costs followed.

It’s been a year since Allentown schools were open. When the pandemic hit, the Allentown School District sent more than 17,000 students home to grapple with learning virtually.

The Allentown School District will face a nearly $55 million budget deficit by 2025 unless it makes major changes, or unless the Commonwealth changes the way it funds schools.

The William Allen High School boys basketball team is undefeated so far this season thanks to the team led by Head Coach Darnell Braswell, the first Black coach in the team’s history.

All Bethlehem and Northampton Area School schools are going fully remote this Monday and won’t return to in-person learning until at least January 11th.

The Easton Area School District is looking to build its own cyber academy. District staff say the current program isn’t working for many families. And as WLVR’s Tyler Pratt reports, it appears to have cost the district millions of dollars.

Current state guidelines say schools should move to 100% virtual instruction in counties with “substantial transmission” rates. But many Lehigh Valley schools remain open, despite meeting that standard.

State officials say they are concerned about student cyber safety. With so many Pennsylvania students attending classes virtually now, reports of online harassment and threats of violence are rising.

When schools closed in March many parents became teachers overnight. But for those who have children with special needs, virtual learning presented a real-world challenge.