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.

About 450 career and technical education students from the Greater Lehigh Valley competed at the SkillsUSA Council District 11 Championships at Agri-Plex at Allentown Fairgrounds on Wednesday.

The Ready to Learn Block Grant money can be put toward a variety of uses, including the expansion of a school district’s social and health services, and even professional development for educators.

Bethlehem Area School District administrators provided well over an hour of testimony advising their board to vote against a proposed STEAM charter school on Monday night.

El Sistema Lehigh Valley, an after school program that impacts over 120 students in the area, is one of the programs set to benefit from a unique new position at the orchestra

Allentown School District is giving its high school students access to ‘Counslr,’ an app that provides 24-hour text-based sessions with licensed counselors to schools and businesses.

Parkland School Board on Tuesday held a hearing regarding a potential addition to the new Operations Center across from Orefield Middle School, which is currently under construction.

The National Weather Service recorded 3" of snow at Lehigh Valley International Airport by 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, where school closures opened up a world of opportunity for some kids who wanted to get outside and do some sledding.

The district said it's owed more than $700,000 in school lunch debt, unpaid tuition by ex-employees, missing or damaged Chromebooks and facility fees.

Several districts announced they would be closed Tuesday because of the weather forecast, which calls for 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Lehigh Valley.

The Basic Education Funding Commission failed to produce a bipartisan report. Instead it voted on two reports and only one garnered enough votes.

About 600 elementary school kids watched the college's women's basketball team play as a reward for attending school regularly.

The two school buses the district has already purchased are expected to be delivered sometime in April.