A community perceptions survey on education in the Hazleton area, co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. and the Hazleton Area Partners in Education, has been completed.

An action plan will be developed later this month to communicate survey results in January 1996.

The project is designed to identify what administrators, businesses, civic organizations, parents, teachers and students can do to make education better in the Hazleton area.

"We have a lot of information here from which to build a stronger educational community and future work force," said Martha Herron, PP&L's community development director in the Hazleton area and project co-chair. "Our goal is to act upon the information provided by the people who took the time to complete the survey and to begin breaking down the barriers to excellent education in our community."

"Our partnership between business, industry and the educational community will help to build a vital and successful school-to-work opportunity for our students," said Dr. Edward Lyba, director of pupil services at the Hazleton Area High School and project co-chair. "Effective educational programs will provide the flexibility to respond to changes in the labor market and economy and help to promote a greater sense of ownership in our community."

Questions were based on a survey done in a comparable community with modifications made to address concerns particular to the Hazleton area.

Parents, teachers, administrators and students from the Hazleton Area School District, the Mining & Mechanical Institute and the Bishop Hafey High School were surveyed. Fourth, eighth and eleventh-grade students were selected from the schools based on proportional enrollment.

Thirty percent of the 1,462 surveys mailed by the Hazleton Chamber of Commerce were completed and returned.

The Hazleton Partners in Education was formed in 1992. Its mission is to better coordinate the educational resources available in Hazleton to meet the work force needs of the community.