School News

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.

You Are The Light is a recognition program in the Allentown School District that celebrates staff and students. The district selects honorees each month to be featured on LehighValleyNews.com.

Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed increasing basic education funding by $1.1 billion, laying the groundwork to slash tuition costs at state-owned schools and taking out a $500 million bond to spur economic development.

Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School officials are discussing a planned expansion, with options ranging from $22.1 million to $43.1 million. The entire process would take about three years once initially approved.

With the two wrestling programs, NCC now will sponsor nine intercollegiate sports, beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.

Given expected shortages, Allentown high schools and others are connecting the county elections staff with students in hopes of beefing up the number of young and bilingual poll workers.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Joe Shields has served in the role before, and will now do it again until December 2025.

Wilson Area Schools' board of directors voted unanimously Monday to approve Harrison Bailey III, principal of Liberty High School in Bethlehem, as the district's new superintendent.

The Wilson Area School Board will vote Monday on appointing Harrison Bailey III as the district's new superintendent. Bailey has been principal of Liberty High School in Bethlehem for 12 years.

Wilson Area School District's second annual Family Computer Science Night welcomed hundreds of students to learn all about computers, AI, robots, and the future careers they could have in the field on Thursday evening.

The Allentown nonprofit is gearing up to break ground that would add around 6,000 square feet to its art school located at 510 Linden St. The state awarded $1 million through an LSA grant to the project, which is expected to cost around $5.5 million.

City Center is planning to overhaul the former Allentown State Hospital property with hundreds of new homes, offices, a school and more.

The policy would outline which AI tools are allowed for student and teacher use. It will be considered at the next regular board meeting Dec. 19.

A local youth sports nonprofit organization said it couldn't afford the $200-a-day fee to rent gym space for a basketball program. Now, some school directors want to waive fees for small community groups.

Allentown school directors elected the board president and vice president for 2025. They will serve a one-year term in their roles.

Allentown School District will receive a state review next week regarding its federal pandemic relief funding. The new policy was created to avoid a citation.

Co-sponsored by the Whitehall-Coplay School District and the Zephyr Pride Foundation, the “Shop with a Cop” program teamed 23 children from less fortunate backgrounds with 26 members of law enforcement as they shopped for clothing or toys for family members.

Superintendent Carol Birks spoke about ASD's successes over the last year and the district's path forward. She invited partners to get more involved in supporting students.