School News

The Lehigh Valley is under a code red alert. Here's what you should know about Thursday's municipal and school district activity cancellations and reopenings.

The Bethlehem Area School District plans to appoint Maureen Leeson as assistant superintendent and chief academic officer, to take the place of Jack Silva, who will be the next superintendent. Esther Lee, president of the Bethlehem NAACP, said the district should have hired a Black candidate.

State House Democrats approved adding $1.7 billion more education spending, including more money to the poorest districts. The final budget will be negotiated with Senate leaders and the governor's office.

Some parents and residents are asking schools to take books off library shelves. Others want a parental consent policy for children to take out some books.

Fewer than 25 percent of NCAA athletic departments are led by women. But in the Lehigh Valley, four of the seven four-year colleges have a woman at the helm. Each had a different path but faced similar challenges in their careers. Said one: “It’s really, really special to see it.”

The nonprofit Community Action Lehigh Valley has worked for about two years to buy Cleveland Elementary School so it can turn into space for area youth.

Moravian University's loss on the 3rd day of the Division III College World Series capped an incredible 38-12-0 season that saw the Greyhounds make their fourth trip in program history to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

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.

The Lehigh County Conservation District and Dieruff High School are partnering to transform a vacant courtyard at the school into an urban garden.

Lance Wheeler, an Easton community activist and former Easton City Council candidate, has been charged with harassing three students while driving a Wilson Area School District van in 2022.

Debbie Merisca has been a teacher since 2018. She left the hospitality industry to find fulfillment working in early childhood education.

In 1989, Yusef Salaam and four other teenagers were imprisoned after being wrongly accused and convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in New York. At Northampton Community College on Tuesday night, he shared his story and the need to address inequities in the criminal justice system.

Parkland Area School Board reviewed the district's capital action plan Tuesday, and even though 2026 projects are limited at the moment, the potential for more spending and a potential tax increase to accommodate it, remain.

The Whitehall-Coplay School Board is considering a request to start a varsity girls wrestling program.

First Baptist Church is home to Bethlehem’s branch of Upward Sports. With the gym floor aging, Paul Kocher, director of Upward Sports, and the Bethlehem Upward Sports community, are raising money to replace it.

A property tax hike as high as 5.3% may be assessed to help close a nearly $7 million spending gap in the proposed 2025-26 Whitehall-Coplay School District budget.

During National Library Week, local libraries celebrated their community role amid uncertainty. A federal order to shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services threatens essential funding for many library programs.

The Allentown School District said it's working with BusPatrol and the City of Allentown to analyze the data it receives. Violations also have been high in neighboring municipalities.

Giant Markets Feeding School Kids Program made a donation of $8,623.86 to the Allentown School District's Child Nutrition Department on Friday.

Hanover Township Elementary School Principal Erin Hines was arrested after crashing into three parked cars at the Stefko Shopping Center on Saturday, March 29, Bethlehem police said.

State Rep. Jeanne McNeill has sponsored a bill that would address the need for carbon monoxide detectors in child care and family care centers. An incident at an Allentown day care in 2022 sparked the legislation, but previous bills have not made it past the state Senate.

Building an elevated stadium would allow the school to maintain all but about two dozen parking spaces under the new complex.