ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The school board of Allentown School District voted Thursday night to recommend Lehigh Valley Health Network in partnership with Valley Health Partners as the exclusive health care partner for its new Family and Community Resource Center on the campus of Bridgeview Academy.
The new collaboration will anchor the District’s Family and Community Resource Center with comprehensive healthcare and community-based services.
LVHN, part of Jefferson Health, will handle the educational component, and Valley Health Partners is running the federally-qualified health center look-alike clinic, according to Valley Health Partners.
Further, while LVHN is a close hospital partner, and they are working on this project collaboratively, VHP is a separate non-profit Community Health Center, VHP officials said.
The partnership will allow for the operation of a comprehensive health clinic within the center, develop aligned health and wellness programming, and establish education-to-career pathways supporting the district’s strategic priorities.
With the recommendation, the district will negotiate and finalize a formal agreement.
According to district documents, the partnership allows for the provision of on-site access to primary care, behavioral health, dental and vision services. By reducing transportation costs and long wait times, officials said students are more likely to receive preventive care, mental health support and follow-up services that contribute to improved attendance, engagement and academic success.
Officials said health clinics are already operating in Hayes and Sheridan elementary schools.
“They have been invaluable in supporting our students. I just want to underscore that,” Superintendent Carol Birks said.
Students will also gain exposure to health care career pathways, experiential learning opportunities and workforce development programming, creating both immediate health supports and long-term educational and economic opportunities, according to board documents.
“This has been years in the making… Knowing we’re going to build upon this partnership is very exciting,” school board President Andrene Brown-Nowell said.
ASD held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Family and Community Resource Center on Jan. 9. It will be located on the campus of the Bridgeview Academy, a theme-based high school that offers academic pathways in artificial intelligence, allied health and computer science. The school was formerly known as Building 21.
According to the district, the purpose of the Family and Community Resource Center is to centralize enrollment and registration support, expand access to coordinated health and wellness services, offer workforce development resources and community learning opportunities, and provide multipurpose spaces for meetings, classes, and community events.
Artificial intelligence program
Officials also discussed participating in the Pioneering Artificial Intelligence in School Systems Google Foundation-funded cohort program in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
The program will provide “structured professional learning to support ethical, responsible, and system-level integration of artificial intelligence,” officials said.
The program is offered at no cost to the district and is scheduled to begin in February.