School News

They have been working without a contract since last summer and say they are overworked and short-staffed.

National issues are seeping into local races, turning elections into proxy partisan fights over race and gender.

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

Many of the nine candidates seeking one of five seats on the board said the race has been insulated from clashes over social issues.

The four-year contract will raise salaries by nearly 4.7% in the 2023-24 school year, with additional increase each subsequent year. The school board ratified a new contract with the teacher's union, the Allentown Education Association, on Thursday night.

Lehigh Valley high school students had the opportunity to see firsthand what it's like to be a nurse. A nursing simulation was held during National Nurses Week.

A plan two years in the making is proving to be successful in Allentown. Nurses for the city and the district worked together to make sure students are safe from preventable disease.

Candidates have formed two groups: one made up of mostly incumbents, and the other made up of Republican challengers. Transparency, spending and projected overcrowding in the district's middle and high schools have become key issues in the race.

The Lehigh Valley STEAM Academy Charter School is seeking approval to open at an office building on South 12th Street that’s zoned for industrial uses.

Democrats in Lehigh and Northampton counties requested three times more mail-in ballots than their Republican neighbors for next week's primary election.

The governor said he will turn over masking decisions to local school officials on Jan. 17.

Conflict and tension have ramped up at school board meetings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some families are still waiting on funds they were supposed to get months ago to make up for meals students missed during last school year.

When schools closed or went hybrid due to the pandemic, low-income students missed free or reduced-price meals available through the National School Lunch Program.

A bill that would require Pennsylvania public schools to post curriculum materials online is advancing through the state legislature. Republicans unanimously support it.

More meals and a lag between delivery and reimbursement compound the problem.

Penn State is requiring all University Park campus employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8 to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order, the university announced Tuesday.

First Lady Jill Biden visited Allentown on Wednesday to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and took time to listen to members of the city’s Latino community.

First Lady Jill Biden will be in Allentown Wednesday to help celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month by hosting a “charla,” Spanish for “chat” or “conversation,” at the Community Services for Children’s Learning Hub.

The Allentown School District’s (ASD) new superintendent, John D. Stanford, is set to receive an annual salary of $230,000. Given the district’s financial challenges, some community members have called into question the amount allocated for his compensation.

First Lady Jill Biden’s visit on Wednesday will be a continuation of her series of conversations in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month during the last week of the 2021 celebration.

More than a month into the school year, Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for schools is still in place while schools and parents have adopted routines for keeping kids safe while remaining in the classroom.