Community Conversation: The Changing Landscape of Education

In this eye-opening television interview special,Community Conversation: , we explore the sweeping changes underway as the current U.S. administration moves to dismantle the Department of Education. With federal oversight on the chopping block, what happens to public schools, national standards, student protections, and access to funding?

Hosted by Brittany Sweeney, the program brings together educators, policy analysts, students, and local officials from the Lehigh Valley to unpack the real-world impacts of this unprecedented shift. From Bethlehem to Allentown, we'll hear firsthand how schools are adapting—or struggling—under the weight of devolved responsibilities and budget cuts.

Is local control a pathway to innovation, or a recipe for deepening inequality? What’s at stake for underserved communities, special education, and college affordability? Tune in for an urgent conversation that asks: if the federal Department of Education disappears, who gets left behind?

Featuring:

• Local Lehigh Valley superintendents and teachers
• Education policy experts
• Parents and students navigating the fallout
• Voices from charter, public, and parochial school systems

• Dr. J. Cameron Anglum, Assistant Professor, Lehigh University
• Rep. Peter Schweyer, chair, PA House Education Committee
• Tracy Piazza, Superintendent, Easton School District

This program will be broadcast live from the Univest Public Media Center's Studio A, with opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Filming begins promptly at 6:00 p.m.

Host or Publisher PBS39, WLVR, and LehighValleyNews.com