The third generation of the Becker family of Lehigh Township will be among the some 500 students walking past the old red school bell when the new Lehigh Elementary School opens for classes Aug. 30.

The Beckers were among those attending the Aug. 12 dedication ceremony for Lehigh Elementary School, 800 Blue Mountain Drive, Walnutport.

John Becker, a director on the Northampton Area School District Board of Education, attended Lehigh Elementary, as did his son, Jacob Becker. Jacob Becker is a social studies teacher at Northampton Area Middle School. Jacob’s wife, Crystal, is a guidance counselor at NAMS.

Their children, Tobias, who will be in second grade, and twins, Emmett and Charlotte, who will be in kindergarten, will attend Lehigh Elementary for the 2021-22 school year.

Other Lehigh Elementary attendees include Lehigh Elementary Principal Cassandra Herr and NASD school board President David Gogel.

Gogel was in the first kindergarten class when the school opened in 1956.

“I spent all of my elementary years in that school,” said Gogel, standing at the podium, framed by the school colors of a balloon arrangement, and looking toward the front door and across the parking lot to the old Lehigh Elementary School.

Gogel remembered several teachers and how education was different in “the old days.”

“Lehigh Elementary School is the finest iteration of education in Lehigh Township,” said school Director Robert Mentzell, recounting the history of one-room schoolhouses in Lehigh Township.

“This building will service the students and will service the community,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik said.

Kovalchik thanked the Lehigh Township supervisors and planning commission for their participation, KCBA Architects and D’Huy Engineering.

“Mrs. Herr deserves some kudos. She was trying to run a school during COVID-19 and planning for a new school,” Kovalchik said.

“I think it’s really beautiful,” Herr said regarding the new school.

An estimated 300 people attended the Aug. 14 open house at the new school. A second open house was scheduled for Aug. 18.

“We’re happy. We’re thrilled. Whenever problems came up, it was ‘How can we solve it?’” said Jay Clough, principal at KCBA Architects, the firm that designed Lehigh Elementary.

The $35.7 million, 86,970-square-foot elementary school was under construction during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Work halted, resumed with strict health and safety guidelines and finished on time and under budget.

The new school is large and spacious. Epoxy resin terrazzo quartz floors sparkle and reflect Lehigh Elementary and school district colors. Hallways are wide, long and brightly lit. Large windows have views of Blue Mountain, cornfields and countryside.

A huge map mural on the staircase wall depicts the one-room schoolhouse heritage of Lehigh Township. Schools are listed on a plaque from Frantz Trophies and Plaques, Northampton, and shown in photos and approximate locations on the map.

The gymnasium has a stage to one side. The cafeteria displays black and white group photos of students who attended schools years ago in Lehigh Township. A television studio overlooks a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) lab. One classroom has rows of Apple computers.

These and the 33 standard classrooms, six small-group instruction rooms, two music rooms and art room are high-tech. Teachers can utilize microphones that transmit to a classroom sound system.

“There’s an interrupt design for announcements,” NASD Director of Technology Kurt Paccio said.

White boards are equipped with laser projectors. Student announcements and performances can be broadcast to each classroom. Split-screen functionality is available.

“It’s interactive for teachers and students,” Paccio said.

Lehigh Township Supervisor Michael Jones, his wife, Colleen, and their daughters, Grace, who will attend fifth grade, and Madeline, who will attend third grade, glowed about the new school on a tour after the dedication ceremony.

“It has lots more space to do stuff,” Grace said.

“I like the STEAM room,” Madeline added.