School News

The Pennsylvania House passed a bill last week that would overhaul the state’s education funding system, sending millions to Lehigh Valley schools over the next seven years. But it faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Over the past 14 weeks, about a dozen Lehigh Valley teens participated in the pre-apprenticeship program at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 375 in Allentown.

The mural, by artist Mercedes Salazar, is a collaboration with Lehigh Valley Arts & Cultural Alliance, Community Action of Development of Allentown, The Chamber Foundation and Allentown Mural Arts.

The grant program would allow schools to recruit students, paraprofessionals and other community members to pursue a career in education. It passed the House with bipartisan support last year but has been stuck in committee in the Senate since then.

Opposing forces came to a head during a discussion about public use of Easton Area School District's Cottingham Stadium, with talks of potential costs, liability, and a connection to the public dominating the conversation.

Bethlehem native Julianna Rodrigues, who has a form of muscular dystrophy, was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collaborative at Moravian University, on Tuesday morning.

The East Penn School Board approved the district's 2024-25 budget with a property tax increase of 4.12% It maintains existing programs and staff positions sought by school administrators.

A Democratic-sponsored proposal to boost public school funding by billions and impose stricter rules on cyber-charter schools is on its way to the Pennsylvania Senate after passage in the state House.

Says Cathy Leibensperger, Saucon Valley High School's wrestling scorekeeper for 44 years: “I look at the other inductees and I see people that have traveled the world, people that coached champions — I’m just a little scorekeeper from a little high school in Hellertown, Pennsylvania.”

Aryash Shyam and Sudha Chandrasekaran, sixth-graders from Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School, won first place at the state competition of National History Day earlier this spring. They compete in the national round of the contest next week with their exhibit on the Great Depression.

The two cultural institutions collaborated to offer a conjoined professional development experience for educators at the charter school.

Parkland School District is on track to award contracts in October and December for major additions to Parkland High School, district officials said Tuesday.

Allentown School District announced its 2024-25 Teacher of the Year at a Monday ceremony. The honoree, Brandy Rentko, is an English language arts interventionist at Raub Middle School.

For every 10 mph of the posted speed limit, a school bus driver should leave the yellow warning lights on for one full second after the bus comes to a complete stop, before extending the stop arm and activating red lights, police said Tuesday.

The newly obtained seminary will combine with the existing Moravian Theological Seminary. Both sites offer degrees in divinity, ministry and theological studies.

Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone is bringing his back to school rally back to Scott Park this Sunday, with free supplies, food, and entertainment for the kids.

The school board on Monday retroactively approved unanticipated work and overtime pay for a facilities project at George Wolf Elementary School. One school director said deliberation on the matter happened "out of the public eye."

Steve Wozniak, who in 1976 with Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. with Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer, and Ariana Huffington, who founded HuffPost, will headline Lehigh University's Compelling Perspectives series.

Allentown received $1.5 million in grants from the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study to address transportation safety and carbon emissions in the city.

In January, a majority of faculty approved a no-confidence vote for Lafayette College President Nicole Hurd. This week, the college board of trustees approved an extension to her contract lasting until 2030. She joined Lafayette as its leader in 2021.

East Penn School Board voted Monday to pause work toward realigning grades 5-8. District officials will again study possible alternatives.

The new school is expected to serve about 1,200 Allentown students in kindergarten through eighth grade. City Center is optimistic it will be ready for the start of the 2027-28 school year.