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.

A change.org petition opposing the new mascot chosen by the Whitehall-Coplay School District has attracted more than 1,200 signatures. The mascot, named Big Z, is so named in honor of the school name Zephyr, which was also a train that once ran through Whitehall Township.

Several Lehigh Valley schools are closing Tuesday because of the weather forecast.

Five Lehigh Valley schools have rifle teams that compete in the Northeast Pennsylvania Rifle League. Says one student: “We want to get more people involved and show it’s totally safe. Sometimes, our sport gets a bad rap because of what’s going on (in the world).”

Parkland School District Social Worker Diane Irish has begun hosting office hours for the Parkland REACH Village, a gathering space and community hub of information for anyone who lives in the district.

The Allentown School Board approved updates to programs that add new language and career training options for students. Some of the changes are the result of a survey of more than 1,800 high school students and focus groups, officials said.

Officials from the Allentown school district spoke with hesitant optimism about the benefits the state's new spending plan could bring to the district.

Hundreds gathered Tuesday night in Dieruff’s cafeteria for a community forum on the proposal to overhaul Andre Reed Park in Allentown's East Side.

The Nitschmann Middle School Lions softball team and Calypso Elementary could soon be able to use the softball field at 11th Avenue and Spring Street in West Bethlehem.

You Are The Light is a recognition program in the Allentown School District that celebrates staff and students. The district selects honorees each month to be featured on LehighValleyNews.com.

Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed increasing basic education funding by $1.1 billion, laying the groundwork to slash tuition costs at state-owned schools and taking out a $500 million bond to spur economic development.

Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School officials are discussing a planned expansion, with options ranging from $22.1 million to $43.1 million. The entire process would take about three years once initially approved.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, state parks across Pennsylvania were inundated with visitors.