ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown School District plans to build a Family & Community Resource Center that would be a one-stop shop for families to enroll their children in school, get dental care or even take an English class.
The new two-story center would be built on the rear of ASD’s Building 21 High School, and its main entrance would face Union Street.
Construction is to begin this summer and end by December 2026.
“One of our goals is to transform community engagement by cultivating and expanding opportunities for communication, collaboration, and connection among families, students, schools, and community."Allentown School District Superintendent Carol Birks
Architects shared design plans for the center at Thursday’s school board meeting.
School district Superintendent Carol Birks said in a news release following the meeting that the Family & Community Resource Center will let ASD empower families — a goal of the district's strategic plan.
“One of our goals is to transform community engagement by cultivating and expanding opportunities for communication, collaboration, and connection among families, students, schools, and community," Birks said in the statement.
Funding the center
The center would cost $10 million, partially funded through a $522,205 grant from the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority.
The funding is distributed through the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Competitive Grant Program, which selected 49 projects to fund, according to the district news release.
This funding looks to streamline an already stressful process for many families.Peter Schweyer, state representative and House Education Committee chairman
ASD is among only two school districts in the state and the only district in the Lehigh Valley to get the grant.
State reps. Peter Schweyer, Mike Schlossberg and Josh Siegel, as well as state Sen. Nick Miller, helped the school district secure the grant.
Schweyer, who is chairman of the House Education Committee, highlighted the center’s role as a registration hub for families looking to enroll their students.
“This funding looks to streamline an already stressful process for many families,” he said in a news release.
“The more we can streamline stressful processes, the higher we raise the quality of life of those families, and I am always looking for ways to do that.”
Birks said the district will look for additional ways to fund the remaining cost of the center. ASD also will use some of its capital improvement dollars for the project, she said.
Community partners and other board news
The Family & Community Resource Center also will provide mental and physical health services that include telehealth and immunizations.
The center would have exam rooms, and medical teams from Lehigh Valley Health Network and Valley Health partners will help staff the center.
The Workforce Board Lehigh Valley also will help families and students find jobs and offer resume writing classes, as well as other workforce opportunities at the center.
United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley will be another regular community partner at the center.
Additionally, the district plans to invite other organizations to offer community services on a rotating basis, Birks told LehighValleyNews.com after Thursday’s board meeting.
She also said the district hopes to offer extended evening and weekend hours at the center.
The new building also will have two large meeting spaces and offices for central administration staff.
Money for new school approved
In other board news, school directors Thursday approved the issuance of $115 million in bonds to pay for the planning, designing and constructing of a new kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school.
It also will fund acquisition of the property for the new school, which the district hopes to build at the former Allentown State Hospital site.
Additionally, school directors approved an Act 1 opt-out resolution, agreeing not to raise taxes by more than 6.1% in the coming budget.
