ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allen High School officially has a new acting head principal.
Allentown School District directors at Thursday’s school board meeting approved the assignment of Alicia Knauff to the role.
Allen’s previous acting principal will take on another leadership role in the district.
Knauff will serve in the acting role starting Monday until the district hires a permanent leader for Allen, its largest high school, which serves about 3,000 students.
“The search process is still underway,” Superintendent Carol Birks said.
“It’s a challenge right now in finding quality secondary principals."Herman James, ASD’s chief of talent management and labor relations
But the timeline for permanently filling the leadership role remains to be determined, district officials said. They said school districts across the nation are facing difficulties in hiring high school principals.
That’s not only the case for urban districts such as Allentown, but many types of districts, said Herman James, ASD’s chief of talent management and labor relations.
“It’s a challenge right now in finding quality secondary principals,” James said.
“We have to take our time and not rush the process to ensure that we get…the right candidate who has the right skill sets [that will] match what we’re looking for at Allen.”
Knauff’s salary for the acting role is $152,000.
Knauff’s background
Previously, Knauff was selected as the first principal of Allen’s Ninth Grade Academy — a newly created role. She was hired for the position in April at a salary of $139,000.
Before that, she was a building leader in the Whitehall-Coplay School District.
Most recently, she was the assistant principal of Steckel Elementary School. She finished in that role June 23, according to Whitehall-Coplay’s school board documents.
In a previous Whitehall-Coplay role, Knauff was responsible for the Zephyr Academy, a transitional support program for ninth-graders.
Knauff has been an educator for nearly 20 years, including as an Allentown teacher.
Superintendent Birks said Knauff was chosen for the acting head principal position in part because of her experience supporting students who are English Language learners.
Allen has a large population of those students, Birks said.
Knauff’s future in ASD
While Knauff serves in the acting head principal role, the district plans to reassign a current employee to serve as acting principal of Allen’s Ninth Grade Academy for the 2025-26 school year.
Knauff will return to the Ninth Grade Academy leadership role once someone is hired for the permanent head principal position, or if she applies and is selected for the permanent head principal role, then she will stay in that job, Birks said.
“We haven’t talked to her about that yet because we’re trying to make sure we’re ready for school to begin,” Birks said.
Knauff attended Thursday's school board meeting, arriving mid-meeting during the approval of the personnel report and leaving right after, before a reporter was able to approach her with questions.
But in an April news release when Knauff was initially hired for the ninth-grade position, she said she was looking forward to creating a “nurturing and rigorous learning environment.”
On Wednesday, Knauff spoke with Allen staff members in a Zoom call about her move to the acting head principal position.
Staff members spoke with LehighValleyNews.com about the call on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized by the district to speak with reporters.
They described Knauff as “well-spoken,” “motivating” and “very positive.” She promoted an open-door policy and was planning to start meeting with teachers soon, the staff members said.
Former acting principal reassigned
Frank Derrick, who served as acting head principal at Allen before Knauff’s hiring, was reassigned at Thursday’s meeting to serve as the district’s director of opportunity programs and alternative education, based at the William Penn building.
Susan Elliot, the previous director, retired this year.
Derrick starts in that role Monday.
William Penn serves "disruptive" students with behavioral issues who qualify for the placement based on state criteria.
Derrick’s salary will remain the same, according to board documents. But his current salary is not listed.
Derrick did not return a Wednesday call requesting comment on his position change.
Derrick, an educator for more than 20 years, previously was the district’s director of recruitment and retention, as well as the principal of South Mountain Middle School, where he served for 12 years.
Birks confirmed Derrick applied for the permanent leadership role at Allen, as well as multiple other district positions, she said.
Birks said the district believes Derrick’s new position at William Penn is best suited for his skill set. It also will let him work with middle school students again.
Birks thanked Derrick for his time leading Allen as acting principal.
“He was tapped at a time where…[Allen] was going through transition, and he was able to continue to move the school forward.”Carol Birks, Allentown Superintendent
“He was tapped at a time where…[Allen] was going through transition, and he was able to continue to move the school forward.”
Derrick was chosen to serve as Allen’s acting principal in April 2023 when Cheryl Clark, the school’s former principal, was placed on administrative leave after reports that Allen’s staff had concerns about safety and morale under her leadership.
Clark, the first Black woman to lead Allen, was demoted and subsequently fired in January 2024 for not returning to work.
Clark is suing the school district for racial- and gender-based discrimination, which the district denies, according to court records.
Harrison-Morton leadership update
Also at Thursday’s school board meeting, school directors approved hiring Stephanie Williams as principal of Harrison-Morton Middle School at a salary of $140,000.
Williams has more than 15 years of experience as a teacher and school leader in Philadelphia, according to a district news release.
Most recently she served as principal of Belmont Charter Middle School. She has a master's degree in science education from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.
The previous acting principal was Maria Spinosa, who took over when former Acting Principal Carolyn Hamilton resigned at the end of May.
Spinosa previously was Harrison-Morton’s acting assistant principal.
The Harrison-Morton community had a tumultuous year after at least one pipe burst in mid-February, causing extensive flooding that moved learning out of the building for several weeks.
Students learned virtually for about a week before being dispersed to temporary school sites throughout Allentown to learn in person.
The Harrison-Morton school building is 151 years old.
