School News

The Freddy Awards is now in its 24th year. The ceremony will take place on May 21 at State Theatre.

A school district email said that at 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, "during an administrative search of a student's belongings, school officials discovered a loaded firearm inside a student's school bag."

"The entire regiment deserves some sort of reconsideration, whether it’s by BusPatrol or by legislative change,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

Midway Manor Community Association has been using its park since entering a "handshake agreement" almost 70 years ago, according to residents.

At the new theme-based school, the goal is for students to become bilingual and biliterate. The superintendent said the academy is an effort to honor the district’s large Latino population.

The Midway Manor Community Association could lose access to its lifeblood if Allentown School District adds more modular classrooms at an East Side academy.

Lawmakers voted 46-1 on Senate Bill 1014, bipartisan legislation that would require public schools to adopt "bell-to-bell" policies restricting student use of smartphones and other internet-connected devices throughout the entire school day.

Guests enjoyed dinner Tuesday night at Bethlehem's United Steelworkers Union Hall before a panel of five women tried to make sense of rising costs for housing, groceries, healthcare and other essential needs.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, award-winning composer, lyricist, performer and star of the Broadway show "Hamilton," will present this year’s Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Visiting Lecture on Feb. 12 at the Allan P. Kirby Sports Center.

Four $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to local union members by mid-February, officials said. The paraprofessionals must be pursuing a teaching certification in a high-need subject.

A change.org petition opposing the new mascot chosen by the Whitehall-Coplay School District has attracted more than 1,200 signatures. The mascot, named Big Z, is so named in honor of the school name Zephyr, which was also a train that once ran through Whitehall Township.

Planned upgrades include new bullpens and batting cages and many renovations throughout the park.

To help female chess players in her native Botswana, Lehigh University graduate student Besa Masaiti established a chess tournament there — the Besa Masaiti WIM Norm Chess Championship.

Five Lehigh Valley schools have rifle teams that compete in the Northeast Pennsylvania Rifle League. Says one student: “We want to get more people involved and show it’s totally safe. Sometimes, our sport gets a bad rap because of what’s going on (in the world).”

Parkland School District Social Worker Diane Irish has begun hosting office hours for the Parkland REACH Village, a gathering space and community hub of information for anyone who lives in the district.

The Allentown School Board approved updates to programs that add new language and career training options for students. Some of the changes are the result of a survey of more than 1,800 high school students and focus groups, officials said.

Allentown City Council approved a 10-year lease that will see the college pay $15,000 in rent each year and invest up to $4 million in the stadium.

Officials from the Allentown school district spoke with hesitant optimism about the benefits the state's new spending plan could bring to the district.

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.