Op-Ed

Free Market Not the Answer for Education's Woes

In opinion piece, Bethlehem Area superintendent and Lehigh professor write that the profit motive of charter schools "erode the public good" of public education.

  By Joseph Roy and George White America's public schools have played a role in reducing inequality and increasing the bonds between people of diverse backgrounds. Yet, as we struggle through a particularly partisan era, a period in which the middle class is shrinking and income inequality is increasing, there is a growing movement to privatize public schools. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia School District announced that even more of the city's public schools will be given to charter organizations this fall, even though only 29 percent of the 80 charter schools met benchmarks. Today, one-third of the nation's charter schools are being operated by private education management organizations, and this proportion grows each year. In …

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'Beginning to Get Back to Normal' After Sandy

Bethlehem Area Schools to reopen today on regular schedule. More than 100 homes still lacking electricity. Mayor Callahan was among the last to have his power restored.

  A week after Superstorm Sandy barreled through the Lehigh Valley with record winds and lots of damage, Bethlehem should begin to feel a lot closer to normal today. Bethlehem Area Schools reopen today with a normal schedule. All 22 buildings had power again as of Sunday afternoon, according to the district’s Website. As of Sunday night, there remained 109 Bethlehem homes and 25 Bethlehem Township homes without electricity, PPL reported. The American Red Cross of Northeast Pennsylvania said it planned to close its regional storm shelter at Dieruff High School in East Allentown at 7 a.m. today. Among the last of Bethlehem’s residents to have power restored was Mayor John Callahan, who tweeted that his family had electricity again at 8 p.m. …

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