School News

A new program hitting Pennsylvania high schools is just one of many ways the state is responding to a teacher shortage that’s created cascading staffing challenges across the Commonwealth.

Central Bucks South High School librarian Matt Pecic said a principal told him to take down four posters with a quote from Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel.

The changes were previously criticized by one board member as 'hippy-dippy, woke stuff.' On Thursday night, they passed unanimously.

Superintendent Joe Roy says no violation of law or regulation was found. But the Pennsylvania Auditor General's Office said the district had other options at its disposal rather than relying on taxpayers.

Easton has been struggling with a shortage of school bus drivers for at least the past few years. Students were getting to school late or getting home late, so the district purchased software last year to design bus routes instead of doing them by hand to find efficiencies.

District Business Administrator Robert Saul presented a draft preliminary 2023-24 budget that shows a $7 million increase in projected expenditures, primarily driven by wage, benefits and service cost increases.

Under the proposal, history would be taught in themes instead of chronologically. ASD Board Director Phoebe Harris called it "woke" and opposes the change.

Director Patrick Foose has recently clashed with other board directors and has been the lone dissenting vote on several issues related to transparency on the board.

Lehigh president Joseph J. Helble said "racist language" was used, but the assault was not racially motivated.

Some Lehigh Valley school districts are reviewing their safety protocols for responding to injuries at area football games after Damar Hamlin's recent collapse brought renewed attention to the dangers of the sport.

School Board Director Patrick Foose said the school board harrassed him for voting against a new $80,000 scoreboard for the district's swimming pool and was not transparent about the process.

In an effort to maintain the positive atmosphere of football games, Easton police officers will be present.

Sources tell LehighValleyNews.com that the board is negotiating a separation package for John Stanford, who is 11 months into the job.

Three additional Lehigh Valley area school districts have partnered with a technology company to automatically ticket drivers who illegally pass school buses.

A high school in Allentown was designated a K-12 Tree Campus and hoisted a new flag in celebration.

The incident has prompted the Bethlehem Area School District and city police plan to ramp up security measures at future games.

Most of the children and adults rushed to area hospitals Tuesday have been released after being poisoned with carbon monoxide at an Allentown daycare facility.

Changes in the speed limit and other measures follow the death of a teacher's aide who was struck by a car.

Gay and trans community members in Nazareth say proposed policy changes would cause tension between people in the LGBTQ community and those who are hostile to them.

Bethlehem Area School District is directing more than $166,000 to expand a pilot program aimed at preventing students from becoming homeless and finding housing for families currently unhoused in the district.

At a roundtable discussion, legislators in Washington sought new ways to support vocational training programs in light of President Joe Biden's efforts to help students reduce their student loans.

All students in grades K-12 in public and charter schools are eligible for free breakfast.