School News

Not long after being moved from Harrison-Morton, Allentown middle-schoolers situated at St. Francis School will be split and sent off to other buildings due to a mechanical issue.

The Parkland School District's board approved a comprehensive plan Tuesday, laying out the district's priorities for the next three years.

Bethlehem Area School District's board approved $47.6 million in contracts Monday to build the new Fountain Hill Elementary School — coming in nearly $3 million under budget.

In his latest budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro wants to allocate nearly $500 million to chronically underfunded school districts — and that includes several districts in the Lehigh Valley. But lawmakers have concerns around the fairness of the funding distribution.

H.B. 827 was proposed by State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton. The bill aims to establish a tutoring program in which high school students could receive academic credit for being tutors

Northampton Area School Board is discussing how it will balance its budget this year and in coming years. Solutions include tax increases and the postponement of the Moore Elementary project.

Southern Lehigh Superintendent Michael Mahon remains on administrative leave after the school board president publicly criticized his performance.

Northampton Area Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik will no longer retire at the end of this school year like he planned. The superintendent said it's not the right time for him to leave the district.

Allentown School Director Lisa Conover first joined the board in late 2017 and was re-elected in 2021. She will not run for re-election in the 2025 cycle.

After a maintenance issue closed Harrison-Morton Middle School for repairs in mid-February, students and staff learned virtually for eight days. Last week, they returned to in-person learning at temporary sites throughout Allentown.

Three Republican school board members are now part of the panel governing Nazareth schools, including two endorsed by the Moms for Liberty Northampton County chapter.

Allentown School District didn't attach the new food services contract to its Nov. 16 agenda despite union's assertion the school board had the final draft when it voted.

Under current plans, the new school would be built in 2025-2026 and replace the one that goes back more than 100 years.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a visit to Allentown that as part of his 2024-25 budget, he will fund a program providing scholarships to students in poor-performing school districts.

Lehigh University sophomore Rhema Hooper on Monday spoke at the United Nations about human rights during a program observing the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A state mandate requiring schools to identify sexual content in books could cost Lehigh Valley school districts significant time, money and resources.

ASD Schools Superintendent Carol Birks said she believes it will take at least six months to determine the best ASD outcomes for graduates.

LehighValleyNews.com has requested a copy of the five-year contract, which is retroactive to July 2022. A media law expert says the details should have been available to the public when the board voted on it.

The school district is looking ahead to protect its land by submitting plans for a new school, all as road improvements are set to come at the nearby intersection of Freemansburg Avenue and Farmersville Road. Officials said no school is coming just yet, though.

The alleged double homicide of 16-year-old Rianna Glass and her mother Rosalyn Glass motivated Parkland School District resident Rachel Farrow to advocate for more education about teen dating violence and abuse.

Members of the politically divided Pennsylvania Legislature must compromise on a fix to resolve education funding inequities to the state's poorest public schools.

For students in the Moravian University marching band, playing the right notes is just part of what makes someone a great bandmate.