K-12 News

The Great Allentown Fair returns Wednesday, Aug. 27, and so does the competition for fair royalty. Here are the four Lehigh Valley finalists hoping to be crowned the next Great Allentown Fair queen.

The backpacks, filled with supplies, were distributed to students from kindergarten through 12th grade, along with free haircuts, face painting, and community support from sponsors like Unity Bank and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone is bringing his back to school rally back to Scott Park this Sunday, with free supplies, food, and entertainment for the kids.

The school board on Monday retroactively approved unanticipated work and overtime pay for a facilities project at George Wolf Elementary School. One school director said deliberation on the matter happened "out of the public eye."

Resurrected Community Life Church is renovating its building on West Turner Street to serve more than 1,000 young students in Allentown.

Allentown received $1.5 million in grants from the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study to address transportation safety and carbon emissions in the city.

East Penn School Board voted Monday to pause work toward realigning grades 5-8. District officials will again study possible alternatives.

The new school is expected to serve about 1,200 Allentown students in kindergarten through eighth grade. City Center is optimistic it will be ready for the start of the 2027-28 school year.

The free event runs from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13. It is open to all Allentown students, families and staff. There will be free school supplies, including backpacks, available.

Allentown School District appointed Alicia Knauff as acting head principal in July. She replaced Frank Derrick, who had been leading the school in an acting role for the last two school years.

The school board accepted the resignation of Kim Bretzik at their meeting earlier this week. Applicants will be interviewed to fill the vacancy April 30.

Debbie Merisca has been a teacher since 2018. She left the hospitality industry to find fulfillment working in early childhood education.

The Whitehall-Coplay School Board is considering a request to start a varsity girls wrestling program.

First Baptist Church is home to Bethlehem’s branch of Upward Sports. With the gym floor aging, Paul Kocher, director of Upward Sports, and the Bethlehem Upward Sports community, are raising money to replace it.

During National Library Week, local libraries celebrated their community role amid uncertainty. A federal order to shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services threatens essential funding for many library programs.

Follow the journey of an adolescent boy living with PANDAS, a rare condition that causes sudden, severe psychiatric symptoms after a strep infection. He and his family navigate the challenges of this condition and find hope through treatment in the Lehigh Valley.

The Allentown School District said it's working with BusPatrol and the City of Allentown to analyze the data it receives. Violations also have been high in neighboring municipalities.

Hanover Township Elementary School Principal Erin Hines was arrested after crashing into three parked cars at the Stefko Shopping Center on Saturday, March 29, Bethlehem police said.

State Rep. Jeanne McNeill has sponsored a bill that would address the need for carbon monoxide detectors in child care and family care centers. An incident at an Allentown day care in 2022 sparked the legislation, but previous bills have not made it past the state Senate.

Building an elevated stadium would allow the school to maintain all but about two dozen parking spaces under the new complex.

Catasauqua Area School District is recommending the 101-year-old tradition be canceled because of safety concerns. Northampton Area's football players are stronger than the Rough Riders, Catasauqua Area's football coach said.

At least one pipe burst in mid-February, causing extensive flooding that moved learning out of the middle school. Learning first moved online before students were assigned to temporary sites throughout Allentown for in-person learning.