School News

Easton Area School District is on the cusp of launching a new program to bring credit-deficit students up to date, and ultimately prevent dropouts.

In a 29-second video, the Northeast Middle School teacher can be seen pushing a male student, pinning him up against a chalkboard and forcing him to knock into a desk. The Bethlehem Area School District and the county's Children & Youth division are investigating.

The fifth annual Be My Neighbor Day was held Saturday at Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem. Children participated in crafts and gardening activities, interactive musical performances, and meet-ups with Daniel Tiger.

The BASD Superintendent’s Scholarship is in its 10th year. Every spring, a senior from each of Bethlehem Area's two high schools — Freedom and Liberty — is selected for the award.

Township zoners approved BCS’s special exception request to use a residential property at 5575 Green Pond Road as an office and work it into plans for a new school at the subject property.

Driver education programs have dwindled in public schools across Pennsylvania, but still offer benefits. In the Lehigh Valley, only 5 school districts offer instruction of some kind. The local intermediate units and private driving schools fill in the gaps.

Superintendent Jack Silva spoke about the district's opportunities for career readiness experiences. As for challenges, Silva said the Trump administration's executive orders have raised concerns for BASD.

Schweyer, chairman of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee, said the department handles many important functions for public K-12 schools and higher education institutions.

At 19,580 square feet, the new field house would be built using the same footprint as the current annex building on site and would be used each day for gym classes and the like, NDHS Principal Jaclyn Friel told planners on Monday.

Easton Area School District has confirmed their preliminary budget shows a $7 million deficit for fiscal year 2026, and a growing reliance on the fund balance.

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.

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.

News Director Jen Rehill talks with journalists Tom Shortell and Brittany Sweeney.

Under a proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania would cap tuition and fees at state-owned colleges to $1,000 a semester for in-state students from households earning up to the median income.

"Mechanical issues" forced the closure of William Allen High School on Wednesday, the Allentown School District said in a release.

Easton Area School District passed a measure to explore options for a new or revitalized high school during Tuesday's meeting.

American politicians are putting political points ahead of national interests, Leon Panetta told a capacity crowd at Lehigh University. The dysfunction is emboldening the nation's adversaries such as Russia and China, the former secretary of defense said.

Allentown School District directors approved a resolution to fire Cheryl Clark, who led William Allen High School for less than a year.

A lack of educators, a retiring generation, and a pandemic that produced stress and burnout all have contributed to the shortage of health care workers, such as nurses. Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke's University Health Network are both focused on attracting new talent.

Allentown School District chose to discontinue First Student as its transportation provider after examining several proposals.