School News

Easton Area School District may not be able to have their classic bonfire next week, but students are engaging in a new tradition: developing their own themed floats for the parade.

The hourlong program explores the audit that found the district not committed to equity and social justice. It was conducted over four months early this year. More than 5,000 students, staff and community members participated in surveys and dozens of school district leaders participated in focus groups.

At its Nov. 11 meeting, Northampton Area school directors considered five partial renovation options for Moore Elementary.

Northampton Area school directors approved the second round of financing for the East Allen Elementary School and education center project at their meeting last week.

Easton Area School District officially canceled its Thanksgiving eve bonfire following a meeting with police and fire officials, who voiced concerns for the safety of people and property.

Bethlehem Area school directors approved the purchase agreement for 315 Columbia St. in South Bethlehem at their Monday meeting. The space would serve as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech School.

The new heating system is expected to be finished by spring. As of now, students say temperatures in the school are "unbearable."

The operations center will be at 2619 Stadium Drive, across from Orefield Middle School.

Officials from BAVTS and its sending school districts have discussed purchasing a South Bethlehem property that once was part of Bethlehem Steel, instead of moving forward with a proposed main campus expansion.

Almost 400 students at Washington Elementary School in Allentown received new winter coats for free thanks to the nonprofit organization Operation Warm, in partnership with PPL and Accenture.

The past year and a half has been traumatic for many people, including children. Many are starting the school year once again under the cloud of COVID-19. A Lehigh Valley yoga instructor is sharing ways to help kids de-stress.

Republicans in the House Health Committee are challenging the Pennsylvania health department’s order that requires children to wear face coverings at schools to decrease the spread of COVID-19.

The Bethlehem Area School District’s Miller Heights Elementary is operating remotely after a dozen COVID-19 cases affected students in five of its classrooms.

Nearly 20% of Americans today are too young to remember firsthand the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Tuesday was the start for Pennsylvania’s K through 12 masking mandate. The order was issued last week by Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, not Gov. Wolf. Sarah Anne Hughes, deputy editor for SpotlightPA, a nonpartisan investigative newsroom which has been covering these issues, recently joined us by phone to discuss the move by the Wolf administration.

Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives is mulling a legislative challenge to the Wolf administration’s latest mask mandate for schools. A group of state senators, meanwhile, is readying a bill to change the state’s constitution to prevent those mandates.

Whitehall-Coplay Superintendent Robert Steckel said they’re “staying the course” with their COVID-19 health and safety plan, but making adjustments for outside mandates such as the Wolf administration’s school masking requirement which went into effect on Sept. 7.

A report from the center-left think tank Third Way shows several degrees at Cedar Crest College take 10-29 years for students to see a return on their educational investment.

School districts across Pennsylvania are preparing to enforce a masking order handed down by Secretary of Health Dr. Alison Beam.

Muhlenberg College is welcoming in-person students back to campus this week. But for some of the COVID-19-era sophomores, being back-to-school means they’re new to school.

Pennsylvania officials on Tuesday announced a mask mandate for students and teachers in schools Pre-K to 12 and for licensed childcare providers.

Masks will be required in all Pennsylvania public and private schools, as well as child care facilities, Gov. Tom Wolf was set to announce Tuesday, reversing course amid a statewide COVID-19 resurgence that is filling hospital beds just as students return to class.