Bethlehem Area School District

Bethlehem Area School District
Bethlehem Area School District in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania
Address
1516 Sycamore Street
Bethlehem
, Pennsylvania, 18017
United States
District information
TypePublic
Motto"Shaping the Future. One Child at a Time."
Schools22, including Freedom High School and Liberty High School
Budget$292.078 million
NCES District ID4203570[1]
Students and staff
Students12,973 (2022-23)
Teachers963.0 (on an FTE basis)
Student–teacher ratio13.47
Athletic conferenceEastern Pennsylvania Conference
Other information
Websitebasdschools.org

Bethlehem Area School District is a large public school district serving the city of Bethlehem and it surrounding boroughs of Fountain Hill and Freemansburg, and Bethlehem and Hanover townships across both Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Bethlehem Area School District operates 22 schools: two high schools, four middle schools, and 16 elementary schools.

Students in ninth through 12th grades attend one of two large high schools in the district: Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township and Liberty High School in Bethlehem.

The district's four middle schools for fifth through eighth grades are: Broughal Middle School, East Hills Middle School, Nitschmann Middle School, and Northeast Middle School.

The district's 16 elementary schools for kindergarten through fourth grade are: Asa Packer Elementary School, Calypso Elementary School, Clearview Elementary School, Donegan Elementary School, Farmersville Elementary School, Fountain Hill Elementary School, Fountain Hill Kindergarten Center, Freemansburg Elementary School, Governor Wolf Elementary School, Hanover Elementary School, James Buchanan Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Marvine Elementary School, Miller Heights Elementary School, Spring Garden Elementary School, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, and William Penn Elementary School. High school students may choose to attend the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School for training in the construction and mechanical trades.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school district had a total enrollment of 12,973 students between its 22 schools, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.

The district encompasses approximately 42.3 square miles (110 km2). As of the 2000 census, it served a resident population of 108,000. By 2010, the district's population increased to 116,968 people.[2] The educational attainment levels for the Bethlehem Area School District population (25 years old and over) were 87.9% high school graduates and 30.5% college graduates.[3]

According to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, 49.9% of the district's pupils lived at 185% or below the federal poverty level[4] as shown by their eligibility for the federal free or reduced price school meal programs in 2012.[5] In 2013, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, reported that 285 students in the Bethlehem Area School District were homeless.[6]

The Colonial Intermediate Units IU20 provides the district with a wide variety of services like: specialized education for disabled students; state mandated training on recognizing and reporting child abuse; speech and visual disability services; criminal background check processing for prospective employees and professional development for staff and faculty.

  1. ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Bethlehem Area School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences.
  2. ^ [US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Poverty Data by Local Education Agency, 2011 U.S Census Burea] 2010 Census Poverty Data
  3. ^ proximityone (2014). "School District Comparative Analysis Profiles".
  4. ^ "Poverty Guidelines".
  5. ^ Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Education Facts Student Poverty Concentration by LEA, 2012
  6. ^ Collin Deppen (January 2015). "How many children are homeless in your school district?" (PDF). Pennsylvania Department of Education.