School News

The Saucon Valley School Board is set to make a decision “in the coming weeks” on whether or not to keep a school resource officer on campus, according to Lower Saucon Police Chief Thomas Barndt.

Costas Alestas, a former Bethlehem police officer and soccer coach at East Hills Middle School, intends to plead not guilty to multiple sex-related crimes involving two middle school students, his attorney said.

In the midst of budget season, Easton Area School District is examining figures to trim a tax increase and bridge a multimillion dollar gap between revenue and expenditures.

The Bethlehem Area School Board passed a preliminary 2024-25 budget at a Monday special meeting. The district plans to increase taxes and pull from a surplus fund to balance the budget. The final budget will be adopted in June.

Forty international students from around the globe are finishing up their school year spent in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding area soon, then will head back home to their families. International Host Family Week celebrates exchange student programs.

Pennsylvania State Police said the victim was hit by a tractor-trailer along Interstate 380 in Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County. Sean Richmond, 38, was a 2004 Easton High grad and current coach and athletic director at Stroudsburg.

Nearly 45 Allentown students have participated in a new mentorship program at Lehigh Parkway Elementary School this year. The program pairs fifth-grade leaders with younger students to help them reach academic and behavioral goals.

Allentown high school students will learn about data analytics and artificial intelligence during an eight-week summer program with DeSales University in which they earn a stipend and college credits.

Kutztown University's jazz ensemble was recognized by DownBeat magazine for Outstanding Performance in its Student Music Awards. It's the 10th win for Kutztown's commercial music program but the first for the jazz ensemble.

Allentown School District will work with a new transportation provider next school year, Student Transportation of America. The district has a number of new transportation offerings for 2024-25, including free LANTA access for charter school students.

Lower Saucon council unanimously agreed on Wednesday to have Police Chief Thomas Barndt go before school officials to gather opinions before potentially moving forward on a school resource officer.

DeSales University in Upper Saucon Township sent out a message saying it will reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday, but then reversed course and said the campus would remain closed due to the ongoing power outages.

The school district informed the community it will dismiss all students early “out of an abundance of caution” ahead of the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

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.

More than 350 young students throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley participated in a mural painting event at Lehigh Valley Children's Center in Allentown on Thursday.The completed mural will appear on an exterior wall of the new Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. The center is slated for a May 22 opening.

The Northampton County District Attorney’s Office and Lower Saucon Township police have announced additional charges in connection with bomb threats made in the school district last week.

East Penn administrators pushed for a slate of new hires to the district, making permanent temporary positions that were created from COVID relief funding.

Raise taxes, dip into the fund balance, cut expenses — or a mix of all three to balance the budget for the incoming year? Bethlehem school district officials will make the final call in June.

Lehigh University's Dr. Larry Snyder has taken a lifelong love of word puzzles to the next level by becoming a New York Times-grade crossword constructor.

The Northampton County District Attorney's Office says charges have been filed in juvenile court against a girl in relation to bomb threats made in Saucon Valley School District this week.

Lower Saucon Township police say they once again found no evidence to corroborate a threat made Wednesday night. It was the second reported threat that prompted a second-straight day for closing the schools.

The three-hour festival highlights 12 short films by students from the university's film and television department.