School News

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.

A draft version of East Penn School District's budget for the 2025-2026 school year includes a 0.84-mill tax hike. The district has raised property taxes nine times in the past 10 years.

The interim principal will take over for Harrison Bailey III, who has accepted the position of superintendent of the Wilson Area School District. A search is underway for someone to fill the job permanently.

Pennsylvania lawmakers were supposed to have a budget in place July 1. Their unwillingness to fulfill their responsibility to fund state government is disrupting many providers of early learning services.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Bucks/Lehigh, was the prime sponsor of the legislation now awaiting Gov. Josh Shapiro's signature. The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the state House and Senate.

The expanded facility will offer students a place to collaborate and “make critical connections to the world,” according to college President Kathleen Harring, who called it “the physical embodiment of our values.”

Allentown School District will withhold part of the tuition payments as a cost-saving measure during the state budget impasse. The budget was due nearly four months ago.

Alongside its efforts to boost the enrollment of local students, Lehigh has sought to make its education more affordable, too.

Parkland Superintendent Mark Madson, Assistant Superintendent Michelle Minotti and Chief Financial Officer Leslie Frisbie were awarded five-year extensions on Tuesday, the district said in a news release.

Parkland's school board voted unanimously Tuesday to stop payments to charter schools until a state budget is in place.

Police responded to a report of an armed person at Innovative Arts Academy in Catasauqua on Tuesday afternoon. An investigation is ongoing.

Fountain Hill Elementary School soon will have a new principal who will join Bethlehem Area from another local school district. The move comes as site work is underway at 1330 Church St. for the construction of a new Fountain Hill school building.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola is proposing changes to the school bus camera arm bill to improve transparency, ensure timely hearings and make the enforcement process more reasonable for drivers while preserving the essential goal of protecting students.

Southern Lehigh school directors will vote on the final version of a proposed generative artificial intelligence policy at their Oct. 27 meeting.

Even after Hispanic Heritage Month ended, Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem was alive with the sound of salsa and the aroma of arroz con gandules during BASD’s annual Hispanic Heritage celebration.