‘Validation’ for 2 Bethlehem students awarded 4-year scholarship to Moravian College
Today 8:30 AM
Giselle Ponce, left, of Liberty High School, and Jakelyn Valenzuela, of Freedom High School, are awarded the BASD Superintendent s Scholarship on April 26, 2021, giving them full, four-year tuition to Moravian College in Bethlehem.Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com
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Moravian College President Bryon L. Grigsby called it his “second-favorite day to graduation.” Jakelyn Valenzuela and Giselle Ponce saw it as an affirmation.
The students were surprised with the news last week and officially recognized at an outdoor ceremony on the Bethlehem college’s campus Monday morning.
Giselle Ponce, of Liberty High School, gets pictures with her family after she was awarded the BASD Superintendent s Scholarship.Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com
Lehigh Valley vaccine providers get creative as COVID vaccine appointment demand slows
Updated 9:24 AM;
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For months, the Allentown Health Bureau’s call list for leftover COVID-19 vaccines was filled with people praying they’d get a call about a last-minute extra dose.
These folks were so desperate to get a scarce, life-saving vaccine, nearly a year into the pandemic, they’d drop everything and book it to the Allentown Fairgrounds with zero notice.
There’s no one left on the call list almost two weeks after Pennsylvania opened up vaccine appointments to anyone 16 or older. So, with two precious doses about to go to waste Thursday night, health bureau staff rushed to the adjacent Allentown Farmers’ Market.
(Photo by Monkey Business Images, courtesy of Shutterstock).
Biden Must Address the Public School Mental Health Crisis Right Now
The pandemic has been especially traumatic for students and, to make matters worse, school counselors that could help are in short supply.
This perfect storm of disease-driven adversity underscores studentsâ need for mental health care.
With the current unemployment rate still far above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, school-age students face financial instability and food insecurity. Families that already lived at the edge of a fiscal precipice are especially at risk. Meanwhile, reliance on virtual learning has challenged young people to adopt a level of self-direction that, in many cases, is far beyond their ability.Â
Lawmaker’s ‘Level Up’ bill takes aim at Pa.’s education inequity in Lehigh Valley, elsewhere
Updated 7:59 AM;
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State Rep. Mike Schlossberg’s wife teaches in a building built in 1871, when the Civil War “was just that thing that ended a couple years ago,” the Democratic representative from Allentown joked. Her only form of air-conditioning is opening a window that sometimes doesn’t open.
Buildings in poor shape are usually a result of poorly funded school districts, a description that fits the Allentown School District, where Schlossberg’s wife teaches. In fact, it’s one of the 100 most underfunded Pennsylvania school districts, something Schlossberg is working to change.