Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year in the Allentown School District!
Families — thank you for your commitment and dedication to ASD. We have learned a lot from you over the past year as we continue to strive for excellence and improve our efforts to educate your children. These experiences and interactions with team members and families have served as the basis for developing our short and long-term plans to move the district forward. We believe our families, team members, and the greater Allentown community can work together to inspire and empower our students to lead the next generation. But, more importantly, we BELIEVE that our students have the creativity, imagination, and grit to lead and achieve their dreams!
As the administration in Allentown finalizes the Blueprint for Success, we want each and every family to know and understand the four main priorities that have been identified.
This Blueprint will guide the district moving forward, and you can be assured that my commitment to the district will focus on
- accelerating the academic performance of ALL students;
- improving culture, climate, and equity district-wide;
- expecting and achieving high-quality organizational governance, leadership, effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and accountability; and
- achieving financial stability in order to improve academic and organizational outcomes.
From the above list, our administration will start our journey to success by focusing on reading skills; math skills; safe, secure, thought-provoking, supported, and nurtured learning environments; improved attendance; and improved graduation rates for the 2022-23 school year.
This official Student and Family Handbook of the Allentown School District provides every student with an overview of key policies and sets expectations for a positive school culture and climate. It is through these guidelines that we can work toward improving our schools’ culture and empower our educators to provide consistent, high-quality education to all students.
Families are asked to review this handbook with their child, then sign and return the Parent/Guardian Pledge Form to your school. The form can be found on the last page of this booklet or in your school’s main office. The digital version of this handbook is available on the ASD website.
This year, several key updates in the handbook include:
Page 6: ASD is committed to being as transparent and consistent as possible with our communications this year. It is critical that our families stay engaged with our schools so we can share important information in the event of an emergency, as well as provide regular updates about what is happening in our school community.
Page 31: Connecting parents directly with their child’s grades and attendance information has never been easier! This page now has detailed instructions (under Student Information System) on how to set up an account in our Sapphire Parent / Community Portal.
Page 11: ASD is excited to continue to provide a full-time Virtual Campus for the 2022-2023 school year for students who want to continue learning at home. More information related to Virtual Campus, including expectations, have been added to the handbook.
Page 14: Information for high school students interested in obtaining a work permit.
Policy Updates (pages 26-34): The district continues to update policies that are specific to student-related services, including our district wellness policy.
We are excited to learn and grow with you this school year.
Thank you,
John D. Stanford, JD, PhD
Superintendent
Nancy Wilt
ASD Board of School Directors President
Other pertinent information: