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Education and Literacy

The City supports service delivery through funding sources:

  • The City of Bethlehem allocated $131,800 from the Community Recovery Fund towards Education and Literacy Implementation. 
  • Greater Valley YMCA, Bethlehem Branch: A Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) helped fund the YMCA’s renovations to its childcare facilities. The YMCA provides full-day childcare, preschool and Pre-K Counts for children ages six weeks to five.
  • YWCA: The Community Recovery Fund supports YWCA Bethlehem’s Youth Empowerment Initiative, which consists of our TechGYRLS, YWeBUILD, and a new Southside Youth Leadership initiative, which aims to alleviate poverty by creating economic opportunity and addressing the persistent gender and race/ethnicity gaps in certain professions through holistic youth development strategies. 
  • Through the CDBG program, the City helped fund a variety of education and literacy programs and projects, including the YMCA’s renovations to its childcare facilities, where they provide full-day childcare, preschool and Pre-K Counts for children ages six weeks to five; the Center for Humanistic Change’s program providing mentoring services in the Bethlehem area schools with at-risk students; and the YWCA’s TechGYRLS after-school Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) program for girls. 
  • Lehigh University will create "Literary Liberations", which will consist of a series of author visits tailored to the unique needs and interests of the students. These visits will feature readings from culturally diverse children's books authored by members of the author collective, providing representation and relatability to young readers who may not often see themselves reflected in literature.

City Collaborates and strategizes with service providers:

  • Community Action Lehigh Valley: This anti-poverty organization offers first-time homebuyer's classes as part of the City's First-Time Homebuyer program, which offers closing cost assistance and financing for up to 10% of the purchase price of the home for qualified low-income buyers.
  • Bethlehem Area School District: The district is a critical community partner for the City on a variety of initiatives to enhance educational experiences and promote connectivity to community, including the Any Given Child arts access program; the Northside Alive neighborhood revitalization program; the Pembroke Choice neighborhood transformation plan; the Southside Community Center plan; and public health and mental health initiatives through the Bethlehem Health Bureau.


  • Moravian University: The university is an important City partner on many initiatives, including the Northside Alive neighborhood revitalization program. Moravian is the community school lead at William Penn Elementary School.
  • Communities In Schools of Eastern PA: The Community Recovery Fund funded its community schools program, which transforms schools into central hubs for learning, family engagement and community impact. It is also supporting the Integrated Student Supports program which is a one-on-one case managed program. School administrators identify the most at-risk students who need support with chronic absenteeism, academics, and behavioral issues.