School News

To help female chess players in her native Botswana, Lehigh University graduate student Besa Masaiti established a chess tournament there — the Besa Masaiti WIM Norm Chess Championship.

Five Lehigh Valley schools have rifle teams that compete in the Northeast Pennsylvania Rifle League. Says one student: “We want to get more people involved and show it’s totally safe. Sometimes, our sport gets a bad rap because of what’s going on (in the world).”

Parkland School District Social Worker Diane Irish has begun hosting office hours for the Parkland REACH Village, a gathering space and community hub of information for anyone who lives in the district.

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.

Allentown City Council approved a 10-year lease that will see the college pay $15,000 in rent each year and invest up to $4 million in the stadium.

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.

Students, who college officials said are a demographic experiencing an "epidemic" of mental health issues, say they're excited for the new space and see its potential.

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.

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.

Three contenders for the next superintendent of the Allentown School District have been selected by the school board.

It’s the first day of classes for Catholic school students in the Diocese of Allentown, and they’ll be wearing masks.

A local infectious disease specialist says with COVID-19 case counts rising in the area, everyone should be putting on a mask.

GOP statehouse heads nix special session on statewide school mask requirement

Keeping students safe and healthy is a challenge as they return to in-person learning amid delta variant threat

Muhlenberg College gives returning sophomores the welcome weekend they missed last year.

Gov. Tom Wolf is asking Pennsylvania's legislature to quickly approve a new statewide mask mandate for schools because his administration is worried that students returning to schools are going back to an unsafe environment.

On Aug. 25, Gov. Tom Wolf wrote a letter requesting the state legislature return to Harrisburg to work on legislation that would require mask-wearing in K-12 schools and child care centers.

A report from Stanford University found enrollment in public schools in the United States fell by more than one million students last fall.