Adding new curriculum and building a new school are two projects moving forward in Northampton Area School District.

The NASD Board of Education voted 9-0, on the recommendation of the administration, to approve an agreement with KCBA Architects, Hatfield, as reviewed by district Solicitor Atty. C. Steven Miller, to provide architectural services to NASD for the new Lehigh Elementary School grades K-5 project.

Also at the Nov. 6 school board meeting, school directors and administrators heard a presentation by Northampton Area High School Principal Robert Steckel and Assistant Principal Kimberly Levin on the 2018-19 NAHS program of studies.

Copies of the program of studies proposal were given to school directors. A vote on the program is expected to be on the agenda of the next board of education meeting - 6:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at the NASD Administration Building, 2014 Laubach Ave., Northampton.

KCBA is the same firm that was hired for the Northampton Area Middle School and secondary campus renovation project.

“I’d like to welcome KCBA as the architect of record,” NASD School Board President David Gogel said.

“It feels good to be back,” said James “Jay” Clough, AIA, founding principal, KCBA, who attended the Nov. 6 school board meeting.

“It’s a beautiful site,” Clough said, of the 20-acre Lehigh Elementary campus, 800 Blue Mountain Road, Walnutport, with a vista of Blue Mountain in the distance.

“The view is amazing,” Clough said.

“The view will be even more amazing if you bring [the Lehigh Elementary project] in under budget,” Gogel quipped.

The middle school project came in about $5 million under budget.

“I hate to see my old building go,” said Gogel, who attended Lehigh Elementary School.

School directors voted Oct. 23 to demolish the 63-year-old school building and construct a new elementary school on the site at an estimated cost of $34.2 million.

After the meeting, Clough and Chris Haller, senior project manager, D’Huy Engineering Inc., resident project engineering services for the design phase of the Lehigh Elementary School project - also approved at the Oct. 23 meeting - told a reporter for The Press the design phase is expected to take one year and be completed by October 2018.

KCBA architectural services for Lehigh Elementary School include:

1. The design and documentation of Lehigh Elementary School and site improvements

2. Preparation of plans and submissions required for the applicable agency approvals

3. Development of alternate bids

4. Oversight of bidding and construction phases

Initially, the design team expects to gather recommendations for the project from NASD administrators, teachers, parents, students and community members. The NASD facilities committee holds meetings, which are open to the public, on the last Thursday of the month in the administration building.

During the approximate one-hour presentation and discussion about the proposed NAHS program of studies, Steckel said, “We have a vision we want to see play out at the high school.”

“This is a very ambitious project,” Levin said.

After the presentation, Lydia Hanner, NASD director of curriculum and instruction, told a reporter for The Press, “The rigor of the courses is being increased. We’re going to increase our advanced placement offerings.

“We’re offering an introduction to computer programming. That was highly requested by students,” Hanner said. “SAT and PSAT prep has been added due to a high level of requests from parents and students.”

The revision process took two months. It began at the start of the 2017-18 school year.

Among topics discussed in the NAHS studies presentation was AP summer preparation and Keystone testing remediation and project-based assessments.

“If project-based assessments come into play, we’re going to need more staff,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kovalchik said.

According to Kovalchik, there are about 100 more students at NAHS than two years ago, which puts pressure on meeting testing goals.

“We do not have the staff at the high school to address that,” Kovalchik said.

Changes in the NAHS program of studies include business and computer technology, English, family and consumer sciences, fine and digital arts, health and physical education, mathematics, music, science, social studies, special education, world languages, Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, class rank and graduation requirements.