Civil and Municipal Education September 2024

Hazleton Area School District – Hazle Township Pennsylvania

October 11, 2024

Hazleton Area School District

A Bright Educational Future

Strides for students while offering the ‘best in class’

The Hazleton Area School District, a vibrant and diverse educational community in northeastern Pennsylvania, serves 13,200 students across 16 municipalities, encompassing both rural and urban environments. With 16 school buildings, the district has recently achieved remarkable milestones and continues to make significant strides in education, infrastructure, and student support. Exemplifying this progress, Superintendent Dr. Brian Uplinger has been nominated for Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year, an honor that reflects his dedication and the district’s commitment to excellence.

A Year of Unprecedented Growth

Superintendent Dr. Brian Uplinger

The Hazleton Area School District (HASD) has recently seen the completion of several major projects. Among these is the newly opened Hazleton Area Academy, which offers both early intervention and Pre-K programming, along with life skills education for older students. Additionally, the Hazleton Area Arts and Humanities Academy has been moved from the high school to its own stand-alone location.

“That is right next to our Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences, or STEM school,” Dr. Uplinger depicts. “We’re able to share instructors and programming between two buildings so students get a taste of both, which creates our STEAM program between both of those buildings.”

The Cyber Academy, an innovative learning opportunity that has over 700 online students, has also been added, uniquely located within a local mall. Assistant Superintendent, Robert Mehalick elaborates, “We knew that we didn’t have two to three years to meet the demands of these students, otherwise, they might choose an out-of-district cyber program. That’s something we did not want to risk, knowing that we’d rather educate them, with our teachers providing live instruction for every content and special area. That’s what the students are getting all day long.”

This space is also home to an eSports program and a storefront that will be operated by special needs students, further enhancing life skills. “It’s unprecedented for a school district to open three spaces like that in one year,” boasts Dr. Uplinger. “It typically takes a couple of years for any district to do anything like that.”

Embracing Technology and Enhancing Opportunities

As a one-to-one district, each student receives a Chromebook for use both in school and at home, and classrooms are being upgraded with Clear Touch Boards to facilitate creative collaboration and interactive learning. Hazleton Area Schools has also established a Newcomer Program within its Early Learning Center, designed for students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 who are new to the U.S. This program focuses on intensive English language immersion, aiming to equip students with the proficiency needed to transition back to their home schools as quickly as possible. “We’ve had huge success with it,” Dr. Uplinger shares.

“One of our staff members said that without the Newcomer Center, she would have had 15 students in her classroom that couldn’t speak English for the entire school year, but they came back to her within the year speaking incredible English and it was such a help. So, it’s been a huge asset for the district.”

The launch of a JROTC program is another example of Hazleton’s progress and success over the last year. Mehalick recounts, “When we applied for the program, they said it was going to be about a three-year wait because there were 250 schools in front of us vying for it. When they looked at the very high minority student population, and the economically disadvantaged students, they realized that this is a district that could benefit greatly from a JROTC program.” He says that the response has been enthusiastic, and with a waitlist of 70 students for the upcoming school year, the district was prompted to hire a second instructor.

“We recognize that time is of the essence, the student population is growing at a feverish pace here, and it has been for years, so there isn’t time to wait to develop new programs. These initiatives are a very, very big undertaking, but as the administrative team, and all of our teachers and support staff rally around us, we’re able to get things done that would probably take several years,” Mehalick portrays.

A Holistic Approach

The Hazleton Area School District prioritizes student well-being and has hired additional social workers and developed partnerships with outside agencies to provide mental health services. “If the child’s mind isn’t well, they’re not going to learn academics. So, we kind of throw academics to the wind, when they need social emotional support or mental health support. Those types of situations have to come first, or you may as well just forget about the academics,” Dr. Uplinger acknowledges.

He shares a recent win for the district, in bringing some outside counseling and support services to McAdoo-Kelayres Elementary and Middle School, which is in an adjacent county to most of Hazleton schools. “In my opinion, a Hazleton Area School District child is a Hazleton Area School District child no matter what county they live in. Getting those services in that building was crucial for those students.”

The implementation of the Rachel’s Challenge program at the high school further underscores the district’s dedication to creating a supportive and inclusive environment. “That is a program of belonging, togetherness, peer assistance, peer interaction, trying to break down those bullying barriers that a lot of kids, especially in high school, run into,” Uplinger maintains.

Sports and Arts: A Balanced Approach

The district’s commitment to a well-rounded education is evident in the expansion of both its arts and sports programs. Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Patrick Patte relays that enrollment at the Arts and Humanities Academy has grown by 75 students in the year since its relocation. “We are providing some internship opportunities with a local nonprofit, where filmmakers and blog writers are interning with our kids to teach them about that. They get some hands-on experience and can develop stories about our school district and the Hazleton area. It’s cool to see those kids being involved in that,” he details.

Furthermore, HASD is working to include middle school students in the arts. “We’re working on a program next year to bring them to the Arts and Humanities building to put on a presentation, whether it’s an art show, a musical, a part of a play, just so those kids get that cultural experience, and a mini field trip,” Patte adds.

The district is also focusing on sports, bringing diverse opportunities for students to engage in physical and extracurricular activities. A recent initiative is the creation of an eSports club, providing an opportunity for gamers to showcase their talents and skills while interacting with peers across the country. “Once we thought these kids were just up in their rooms and not using their minds,” Mehalick admits, “But higher ed has recognized they’re doing a whole lot more than wasting away. They’re some of the greatest programmers and computer developers that we have playing these games. And we need to facilitate this.”

Unified track and bocce teams have been introduced, showcasing the inclusive spirit of HASD. “That has been a great, great asset, not only to get kids involved in sports but to see how kind and helpful they are to each other. We’ve had great success with both teams, we’re the forerunner in the area and we’re pushing it down to our middle school level,” Patte conveys.

A Future Vision

As for what comes next for Hazleton Area School District, Dr. Uplinger quips, “We’re running out of things to do because we’re doing it all right now.” On a more serious note, he discloses that the district is embarking on a new elementary school, to meet the demand of continued growth. “We’re running out of space very, very quickly, and once that happens, we have to transport students away from their home school to other schools within the district. And that might impede them being with a friend or being with a sibling, and we don’t like to do that,” he explains.

“We want to have the children in the schools that they’re living around, for that consistency, and that continuity, that always comes with peers and teachers and the land around the building.” The new facility, designed for 1,800 students in grades one through five, will address the space constraints and enhance the learning environment. This project includes plans for a special education program to better serve students currently placed outside the district.

As the Hazleton Area School District continues to innovate, expand, and meet the diverse needs of its students and community, it is poised to continue on a path of excellence and success for all.