![\"Students](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767096669_950_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nRural school leaders pushed for equitable funding. An influential union leader retired. A school board passed policies regarding transgender students. School districts continue to try to reach \u2014 and exceed \u2014 test proficiency rates achieved pre-pandemic.<\/p>\n
From test scores to school board controversy, here’s a look at the top education stories from 2025.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania School Report Card<\/p>\n
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Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n
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WVIA News <\/p>\n
Students listen in Annamae Martinelli’s classroom at Frances Willard Elementary Schoool.<\/p>\n
More than five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects are still felt in classrooms across Northeast and Central Pennsylvania. Most school districts have not reached test proficiency rates achieved pre-pandemic, according to a WVIA News special report<\/a>. WVIA visited classrooms across the region and looked at the scores of 500 districts statewide.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania School Report Card<\/p>\n Rural school leaders push for change<\/p>\n Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WVIA News <\/p>\n Students work in the library at Montrose Junior-Senior High School. The superintendent of the Montrose Area School District is advocating for fair, adequate funding for small, rural districts.<\/p>\n Historically underfunded districts receive the vast majority of new state education funding. Leaders of small, rural districts want Pennsylvania to examine the funding formula and seek cyber charter school reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 2025-26 budget<\/a>, not approved until November, includes changes to cyber charter funding. <\/p>\n Influential union leader retires<\/p>\n Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WVIA News <\/p>\n Rosemary Boland retired as president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers on July 1, after serving as president for 20 years.<\/p>\n Rosemary Boland, who started teaching in Scranton in 1969, led strikes, advocated for children and provided a voice for her membership. She retired<\/a> as president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers on July 1.<\/p>\n Columbia County district adopts policies aimed at transgender students<\/p>\n Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WVIA News<\/p>\n Jill Freeman urges the Berwick Area School Board to reject policies that she said would harm LGBTQ+ students.<\/p>\n Policies approved by the Berwick Area School Board put student lives at risk, some community members said during contentious meetings in August<\/a> and September<\/a>.<\/p>\n After passionate pleas and statements from advocates of the LGBTQ+ community, school directors approved policies that detail when staff can refer to students by their preferred names and pronouns, and what bathrooms or locker rooms students can use.<\/p>\n The name and bathroom policies are the latest attack on students within the LGBTQ+ community, advocates said. In October 2024<\/a>, the board banned employees from displaying most flags on district property, including the Pride flag.<\/p>\n A hard lesson on scams<\/p>\n Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WVIA News <\/p>\n Vanessa White Fernandes received a phone call in August, from a person claiming to be with the Lackawanna County sheriff’s office. Over the course of three weeks, she sent $50,000 to the scammers.<\/p>\n Vanessa White Fernandes received an unexpected phone call. The caller said he worked for the Lackawanna County sheriff\u2019s office and that the Scranton resident had missed a court hearing. If she didn\u2019t pay a fine, she\u2019d be sent to jail immediately.<\/p>\n Over the next three weeks, she said she sent the callers more than $50,000<\/a> from her retirement fund and other savings through a money transfer machine at a West Scranton grocery store. When White Fernandes eventually went to the Scranton police, officers told her nothing could be done. She came forward with her story this year, hoping to help others.<\/p>\n Scranton woman issues warning about scams<\/p>\n Other notable stories <\/p>\n Penn State identified all four regional campuses \u2014 Hazleton, Schuylkill, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre<\/a> \u2014 for possible closure. The Board of Trustees voted in the spring to close Wilkes-Barre<\/a> after the spring 2027 semester.<\/p>\n James Scholten Jr. of the Wyoming Valley Challenger team had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch of the Caribbean vs. Asia Pacific game.<\/p>\n WVIA launched the Beyond the Scoreboard<\/a> feature, which included stories on the retirement of legendary Lackawanna College football Coach Mark Duda<\/a>, a 58-year-old freshman<\/a> on the Lycoming College football team and the Wyoming Valley Challenger baseball team’s journey to the Little League World Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Students](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767096670_149_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Rosemary](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/6604849\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6720x4480+0+0\/resize\/880x587!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F73%2Fb8%2F025c4f564dfc8db33ca351ac504d%2F0s4a0327.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Jill](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767096671_922_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Vanessa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767096672_854_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767096672_315_.jpeg\"\/)
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