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Northern Lehigh presents curriculum review and professional development plan for 2025–26
Summary
District leaders described an iterative four-year curriculum cycle, new curriculum materials posted on the district website, expanded professional development (including summer options with flex time), and safety and leadership training tied to state Act 55 and Act 71 requirements.
Northern Lehigh School District administrators on Monday laid out a yearlong plan to align curriculum and expand professional development for 2025–26, saying the work is intended to give teachers clearer scope-and-sequence documents and targeted training to improve classroom instruction.
"Our goal is to highlight how we support high quality teaching and learning by ensuring our curriculum is aligned to standards, responsive to student needs, and supported through ongoing professional development," Dr. Stoker said as he opened the presentation. He turned the presentation to Mr. Piner, who described the district's four‑year curriculum cycle and the effort to consolidate thousands of files into an accessible curriculum portal for staff and families.
Piner said the approach is iterative rather than a repeated wholesale rewrite: "We will not make any major rewrites unless we have major changes," he said, and added that the district has focused recent cycles on foreign language and K–8 ELA and is now prioritizing math updates and a pilot for Thinking Math in grades K–6.
Administrators described how multiple assessment types — local screeners, state assessments and teacher-created measures — feed into three planned data-review days (October, February and May). "Educators dig deeply into these data to inform lesson planning and to guide instruction using the insights gained to drive and differentiate to better meet the needs of all of our students," Stoker said.
The district also highlighted professional development offerings that include the classroom collaborative model, targeted cohorts (including work on AI and building-thinking-classroom practices), conference participation for teacher leaders and a web-based PD resource repository that staff can use to earn flex time. Safety training tied to Pennsylvania Act 55 (emergency response drills) and Act 71 (suicide awareness and prevention) was noted as a districtwide requirement.
Administrators said a comprehensive guidance (339) plan developed with an advisory council — in which board member Miss Snyder participated — will appear on the board agenda for approval. Materials from the presentation will be posted on the district website and included in the board minutes.
The presentation closed with an invitation for questions; board members asked about how in‑service time will be used to implement new resources. Presenters said structured professional learning will accompany adoption, with opportunities offered in summer sessions and in‑service days so teachers can collaborate and receive implementation support.
Looking ahead, the district plans to pilot additional math materials for middle grades before recommending further adoption.
