School News

Students were all smiles as they feasted on pizza and hot dogs — and picked up free school supplies — at the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley on East Fourth Street in Bethlehem. It was the second year for the community event.

Jason Moorehead claimed the Allentown School District violated his constitutional rights and protections under a union contract when it suspended him over his attendance at the Jan. 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally and ultimately fired him when he refused to return to work.

Two elementary schools and one middle school in the Bethlehem Area School District distributed free backpacks to incoming students on Friday.

New Nazareth Superintendent Isabel Resende will receive a prorated $205,000 salary for the 2024-2025 school year. She has worked for the district for 16 years.

The Nazareth Area School Board voted to promote Assistant Superintendent Isabel Resende to the district's top spot Tuesday evening. Resende will take over after the district approved a separation agreement with Superintendent Richard Kaskey Tuesday.

East Penn administrators heard a presentation on curriculum changes proposed to the district's Math and English programs, with the hopes they can remap to updated standards and meet learning acquisition and scoring challenges post-COVID.

Anthony Pidgeon, the former Allentown School District director of human resources, testified Jason Moorehead couldn't return to the classroom after posting distasteful political memes on social media following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol Building.

Allentown School District's OneAllentown Back-to-School Bash was designed to show parents the caring nature of those who will prepare their children for their future.

The district is introducing new set of district policies governing the use and expectations regarding generative artificial intelligence, giving them a basis to train students and staff.

The Fountain Hill Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend approving plans for a new Fountain Hill Elementary School.

Staff members also said a teachers' union representative told them they could lose their jobs if they spoke to reporters about the building challenges.

A proposed 25,800-square-foot childcare center in Salisbury Township would be named in memory of Monsignor John P. Murphy, long-time cleric in Allentown who died in 2023 at age 86.

Students have been learning online since last Wednesday. Teachers are reporting to other schools throughout the district to lead their online classrooms.

Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley will all continue sending their students to the vocational-technical school. This agreement comes after months of tense debate about the school's future.

The Whitehall-Coplay School Board on Monday accepted a letter of retirement from Director of Athletics Bob Hartman. Hartman has served in that role for 23 years. His retirement is effective in August.

The donations will go toward family engagement, peer mentoring and elementary athletics programs as a long-term strategy for preventing crime and drug use.

The Allentown School Board approved the purchase of land for a new K-8 school Thursday. School directors faced critiques of the land's price tag and the construction management firm it chose for the school project.

Superintendent Carol Birks said compliance with federal guidelines will focus on the language ASD uses rather than a complete overhaul of its programs.

Cedar Crest College will use a $608,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department for creation of an Expert Witness Training Center and Crime Scene Lab.

If the policy is approved, Bethlehem Area would become the fifth district in the region to put a generative AI policy on the books.

Also citing presidential executive orders, NASD could up going over its coursework with a fine-tooth comb.

Northampton Area School Board approved its role in the deal, while Bethlehem Area School Board is up for the same vote in the coming weeks.