Bethlehem Area School District

Covid-19 COVID-19 Notification Process

The notification of students being identified as positive or a close contact may occur through the parent or district health services. The following processes will assist the district’s efficiency and accuracy in providing direction to parents.

Parent Notification Process of Positive or Close Contact: Parents should notify the district of their child being identified as positive or an outside close contact at home/community through an automated communication process via the BASD Parent COVID Reporting Form. Please call or email the school (office, nurse or teacher). ‘Thank you for contacting the school informing us that your child(ren) have tested positive or are considered a close contact. Our priority is for the safety and welfare of our students and staff. In order to provide you with the most efficient and current information, complete the “BASD Parent COVID Reporting Form” by visiting https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjB5TB1MyXaNMrfc6QalHK16GTLbISvBb-BD-_iqmj1qHxPw/viewform. If a parent does not have internet access readily available, call Ms. Lorisamar Rivera at 610-297-2035 to assist with completion of the form between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Data from “BASD Parent Covid Reporting Form ‘’ will populate the information into a spreadsheet and provide a calculated return to school date with directions to the parent via an automated email.

A phone call may be made by the COVID Response Team at their discretion upon review of information.

State of the Schools report March 15

Student Opportunity and Diversity in BASD with Dr. Joseph Roy, BASD superintendent. 7:30 to 9 a.m., Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University. RSVP: brittney@lehighvalleychamber.org.

Communities in Schools

Local chapter gets $3.3M grant

President and CEO of Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania (CISEasternPA) Tim Mulligan announced this morning that the local affiliate is one of 40 in the Communities In Schools network to receive funding from the lauded philanthropist, Mackenzie Scott. The latest round of resources from the author and former wife of Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, comes at a time when many area nonprofits face budget concerns in the midst of a global pandemic.

Locally, CISEasternPA received $3.3 million. While plans are far from finalized, the goal of the organization is to grow operational excellence to better build sustainable systems inside schools, conduct effective advocacy, and empower more students to move beyond the barriers they face in school and out.

For more information about CISEasternPA, visit: https://www.ciseasternpa.org

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Mock trail competition opens

This month, 250 teams from 203 high schools across Pennsylvania will be competing in a virtual setting in district and regional levels of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition sponsored by the association’s Young Lawyers Division.

Now in its 39th year, Pennsylvania’s mock trial program is one of the largest in the nation.

During the competition, eight-member student teams are given the opportunity to argue both sides of the case before a judge. The students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, are assisted by teacher coaches and lawyer advisors in preparing for competition. Lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors and sometimes judges for the mock trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules.

The district and regional levels of the competition will continue throughout February and March. At the conclusion of the local competitions, 16 high school mock trial teams will advance to the PBA Statewide Mock Trial Championships, March 25 and 26.

The winning team of the state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock trial finals to be held virtually May 12-14.

This year’s hypothetical case is a criminal trial to determine whether the defendant is guilty of murdering a man of great wealth who was a former critical player in the horse-racing industry with an extensive list of connections.

Teams participating from the Lehigh Valley include Allentown Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic. Easton Area. Emmaus, Nazareth Area, Notre Dame and Parkland.

For more information about the 2022 PBA Statewide Mock Trial Championships and to read this year’s case, visit https://www.pabar.org/site/For-the-Public/Mock-Trial-Competition. Interested volunteers should contact the PBA’s Maria Engles at 800-932-0311, extension 2223.