K-12 News

Allentown School District held a kickoff event Thursday at South Mountain to tell students and families about the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program that gives each student an iPad for the school year.

The Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School in Allentown held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its $16.8 million school for fourth-to-eighth graders on Friday morning.

Commonwealth Charter Academy, a large, public, cyber charter school for all school-age children, plans to convert a nearly 47,000-square-foot, one-story building into office space for teachers and staff at 2200 W. Broad St.

Critics of the hiring process argued for a superintendent search instead of a direct appointment. Others said Karen Trinkle had more than proven herself ready to lead, and a search would be lengthy and costly.

Planned to open to students for the 2027-28 school year, the roughly $59 million project will go up on the same land as its predecessor facility, which dated back to the 1930s.

School directors voted 5-2 to approve Ethan Ake-Little’s resignation and settlement agreement. His resignation takes effect Aug. 31.

Southern Lehigh school directors appointed Karen Trinkle as chief of schools. They also approved a settlement agreement with Ethan Ake-Little, the HR director who filed discrimination and retaliation complaints against the former superintendent.

Ethan Ake-Little has been suspended with pay since June while the district investigated allegations about his job performance. Ake-Little previously filed discrimination, retaliation and fraud complaints against the former superintendent.

Additional cleaning and air quality testing remain underway at Sheridan and Ritter elementary schools, Allentown School District said in an update Sunday.

School directors are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to promote Assistant Superintendent Karen Trinkle to chief of schools. The proposed five-year contract comes a month after school directors voted to part ways with the previous superintendent.

Francis 'Frank' Anonia, 43, was charged by Lehigh County detectives with multiple counts of invasion of privacy, criminal use of a communication facility and other offenses, according to court records.

A recently released equity audit concluded Allentown School District needs to streamline inclusive practices across the district to better serve students of color.

The Allentown Symphony Association's El Sistema program is expanding to a new school to offer more student opportunities.

The Pennsylvania House Education Committee held a hearing on school safety and security in Harrisburg on Thursday. State Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, leads the committee.

Lessons in hands-on healthy eating — and growing food locally — are in the near future of some younger students in Lehigh County.

Peter Langman, an expert on the psychology of school shooters, spoke at Wednesday's 26th KidsPeace National Conference in Orefield.

Allentown School Board member Phoebe Harris has been barred from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association's annual meeting after she seized a microphone at an awards dinner and accused the group of racist behavior.

Student alerted security, which then apprehended the individual without incident.

Children First PA, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, invited state House candidates in Northampton County.

The rink, which again will be erected in front of the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks stage at the foot of the blast furnaces, is scheduled to open Nov. 22 and run through Jan. 5.

State and county grants helped bring both a significant revamp of the playground at the Township Community Center off Farmersville Road, as well as a mile of new trail and other amenities for the Housenick Park Trails system on Christian Spring Road.

Easton Area School District signed off an agreement with the city, which will see them contribute $30,000 to improve Vanderveer Park's basketball courts, with the city covering the cost of labor.