A majority of area schools are returning to the classroom next week to kick off the 2023-24 year.

Tamaqua is the lone district already in session, having started classes Wednesday.

Monday will see the return of Marian, Panther Valley, Palmerton, Weatherly, Carbon Career and Technical Institute, Pleasant Valley and Northern Lehigh school districts. Jim Thorpe will begin one day later on Tuesday.

Lehighton will be the only district beginning after Labor Day when it returns on Sept. 7.

District officials provided updates this week on what is new heading into the year.

Palmerton

One of the more noticeable changes heading into the school year will be in the high school library, where the district added two classrooms this summer.

The new rooms include a small group instruction area and a larger technology classroom.

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s a small project, but it really is a great use of space,” Dr. Jodi Frankelli, Palmerton superintendent, said of the addition. “The rooms are a great size and it still left us with ample space in the library for book shelving.”

The technology room will replace the modular unit the school had been using.

In-person Spanish classes will be returning to the high school this year with the hiring of Perla Javier Ortiz. With the district unable to fill the Spanish teaching position last year, students took classes virtually through the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit’s eLearn 21program.

“We are hoping to expand our partnership with Lehigh Carbon Community College and add some students to our Early College program,” High School Principal Paula Husar said. “We also have some new classes to offer our students. The new classes are Entrepreneurship (Business), Journalism, Fitness and Wellness (PE/Health), Concert Band and Music, AP Biology, and American Popular Culture and Sports History (Social Studies).”

Junior High Principal Rich DeSocio said the school will welcome a new security guard this year and on the curriculum side, all eighth grade students will have a STEM elective.

S.S. Palmer and Parkside Education Center are adding a social worker and an additional speech and language pathologist.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with the YESS! (Youth Education Support Services) through St. Luke’s,” Palmer and Parkside Principal Ralph Andrews said. “We are also thrilled to have an instrumental music teacher dedicated to the elementary buildings as we strengthen our music program.”

Palmerton schools will enter their third year with the Leader In Me series, which focuses on highly effective practices that target our classrooms’ culture, leadership, and academics.

“Our elementary schools are also shifting to a 6-day cycle, allowing technology to be taught at the 2nd-grade level while providing students with leadership opportunities throughout the day,” Andrews said.

Palmer and Parkside’s parent teacher organization is sponsoring “Popsicles with the Principal” on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the borough park.

Towamensing Elementary Principal Kelli George said the school is excited to show off one of its major summer projects.

“Over the summer our Student Lighthouse team, along with high school students, volunteered their time to paint different pictures and motivational quotes on the walls inside the building to brighten our hallways,” George said.

Jim Thorpe

The district’s Penn Kidder campus will see the establishment of a K-3 emotional support classroom in 2023-24.

Jim Thorpe had contracted with the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit and later Behavioral Health Associates for the services.

“This keeps the students here in the district where we should be keeping them,” Superintendent Robert Presley said. “It is a cost savings, but more importantly it is what is best for students.”

All Jim Thorpe students will receive free breakfast and lunch with the district opting into the state’s Community Eligibility Provision program.

The program is a reimbursement option for districts that wish to offer free meals to all children in high poverty schools.

According to the CEP program requirements, at least 40% of students in a district must be directly certified as having qualified for free or reduced lunch by an office such as Medicaid or something similar.

Around 50% of Jim Thorpe’s students are currently directly certified.

Lehighton

Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lehighton is implementing a change from block scheduling to traditional scheduling in its high school.

The move, district officials said, better aligns with its “Career Pathways” curriculum model.

Students said the change would allow for more opportunities to take advanced classes and explore personal interests or goals. Teachers, meanwhile, said traditional scheduling allows for better course sequencing and higher enrollment in classes.

The time gaps, they added, between progressive courses such as math or a foreign language was too great under block scheduling.

The district is beginning the year with new on-campus travel regulations, specifically when it comes to elementary student pickup in the afternoon.

Lehighton is prohibiting parking on Union Street or Indian Lane for afternoon pick-ups until 2:45 p.m.

Any vehicles stopped on the road before 2:45 p.m. will be asked to move by school police. If someone continues to stop, they will be assessed a written warning. Fines will be issued following the second written warning.

Students, parents and staff entering the campus for sports or after school activities are asked to enter by the Mahoning Street entrance between 2:15-3:15 p.m.

Superintendent Dr. Christina Fish said the change is to help alleviate a safety issue when vehicles are trying to go around parked cars by veering into the opposing lane of traffic.

Northern Lehigh

Superintendent Matthew Link said the district’s technology department has been hard at work all summer preparing new laptops for all office staff, teachers, and administrators. Additionally, students in kindergarten, fifth-grade, and all high school students will receive new Chromebooks. New interactive projectors have been installed throughout the schools.

New bus routing software was installed and tested during the district’s summer programs, and it is transitioning to a new transportation company, Krise Transportation, Inc.

“We know that learning happens when students and staff feel safe and are pleased to announce that we have hired a fourth full-time school police officer, which means that each school will now have an SPO every day,” Link said.

Link said the district remains focused on updating curriculum and local assessment practices, and increasing opportunities for administrative and faculty collaboration with the implementation of three new Act 80 days in its calendar. “We’re also strategically planning in-person professional development for the year while still remaining committed to expanding opportunities that meet individual teacher needs as a career professional,” he added.

Tamaqua

Not much has changed since last school year in Tamaqua, Superintendent Ray Kinder noted this week.

“We had a small turnover with staff, but not a significant number,” he said. “Nor did we have any large building projects or renovations.”

Kinder said the district’s biggest challenge continues to be finding ways to connect with our students in order to provide them with an education tailored to their future needs.

“The more in tune we are with what they have as goals, the better opportunities we can provide for them,” he said.

Panther Valley

Superintendent Dave McAndrew said the district is looking forward to the resolution of the state’s fair education funding issue in order to move forward with needed updates in its buildings.

“The state put together a Basic Education Commission and they are tasked with finding a way to properly fund schools,” McAndrew said. “There are several sessions where they will hear testimony from school officials regarding funding. We are hopeful that they will have a resolution quickly.”

Weatherly

The district is launching a Mental Health Task Force to help students who might be going through issues.

“The force was created so we can be more proactive and try to identify any problems or issues that our kids might have,” explained district Superintendent Daniel M. Malloy.

Malloy said the district’s psychologist spearheaded force’s creation, and it will be comprised of her, guidance counselors, nursing staff, teachers and administrators.

“We are trying to be proactive in helping our kids in any way we can,” Malloy said.

For some time, the district has helped with students with mental health issues through school counselors, St. Luke’s University Health Network and other programs.

Marian Catholic

“There is plenty of excitement at Marian this year including a substantially increased enrollment compared to last year, increased interest in athletics and extracurriculars and many facility improvements,” said Michael Brennan, Marian’s head of school.

The enrollment at the Rush Township school is the highest it has been since 2017, he noted.

As for the facility improvements, they happened both inside and outside the school.

“We are grateful to have the opportunity to complete several projects including a new gymnasium roof, a new gymnasium playing surface, parking lot improvements and field improvements to all of our athletic fields,” Brennan said.

The recent improvements to the John P. “Jack” Malarkey gymnasium are a continuation of several other recent projects including new bleachers, new stage, stage lighting, and LED lighting for the entire gym. The gym is used for Masses, sporting events and performance arts.

Pleasant Valley

The district did not respond to requests for information.

St. John Neumann Regional School

“We have a new technology initiative to make sure everybody has their own piece of technology, such as a Chromebook, or a laptop,” Principal Chris Heery said. “We are initiating a new Positive Behavior Initiative, which I think will do really well. We will have new, differentiated instruction where we will be emphasizing our core curriculum.”

St. Jerome Regional School

St. Jerome Regional School in Hometown is continuing to see growth in its student population.

Amy Hannis-Miskar, principal, said in her newsletter to families that there are over 65 new students at the school, bringing the enrollment from Pre-K through eighth grade to over 300.

In addition, there have been some staff changes, including new cafeteria workers, Jennifer Caparro and Joe Smarr; Terry Cavenas as a new eighth grade teacher; and Leah Fenkner as a new classroom aide.

The school will again offer instrumental lessons for students in grades four through eight.

Artist Victor Stabin will also conduct a residency at St. Jerome and will work with eighth grade students to create work based on his Daedal Doodle book and curriculum. During this time, a corporate training company will record some of the lessons.

The school also received a $27,939 grant through Computer Aid Inc., which will be used for the instructional technology program at the school.

Staff writers Terry Ahner, Kelly Monitz Socha, Amy Miller and Jill Whalen contributed to this story.