K-12 News

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.

Allentown's 111th annual Romper Day celebration was held at J. Birney Crum Stadium on Monday night. About 400 students who participated in the summer playground program exhibited skills including dance and calisthenics.

Allentown students took part in STEM activities, including stepping into an airplane cockpit, when Captain Barrington Irving flew into town with some hands-on critical thinking activities from his Flying Classroom.

School directors voted 5-4 Tuesday to part ways with now former Superintendent Michael Mahon, who was on administrative leave for the last five months.

The Southern Lehigh School Board will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of Southern Lehigh High School to vote on both a separation agreement and mutual general release agreement between the district and Superintendent Michael Mahon.

Allentown school directors approved the $1.14 million partnership Thursday. The agreement runs from next month to June 30, 2028.

Alicia Knauff will start as the new acting head principal of Allen on Monday. She was hired as the principal of the school's Ninth Grade Academy before being tapped shortly after for the acting head role.

Superintendent Carol Birks said she doesn't have to talk about where she lives. School directors defended Birks from social media posts questioning her residency.

Alleged unauthorized spending sparked the concept of the possible need, and forensic audits are typically done when there are specific allegations of misconduct, according to the district's solicitor and business manager. At least one school board member voiced early opposition to the audit.

The annual school board reorganization is among several agenda items on the docket for Thursday night.

Carol Birks discussed safety, learning and retention at a town hall meeting Wednesday at Hays Elementary School.

Students at Lehigh Valley school districts and across the state are continuing a downward trend of performing below pre-pandemic levels on state standardized tests.

Members of the group called for a review of library books and a policy banning transgender athletes, and they questioned white privilege and bias training.

The Northampton County Suicide Prevention Task Force and Bangor Area School District will come together to screen a documentary about Emma Benoit, “My Ascension.” It tells the story of her survival and “how it propelled her on a mission to use her experience to help others find hope and stay alive.”

Parkland High School will perform in Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in the school's history. The parade is the oldest in the country, dating back to 1920.

Newly-elected Lehigh Valley State Sen. Jarett Coleman has dropped a lawsuit he filed last year against the Parkland School District that sought to invalidate teacher pay raises. The trial over Sunshine Act breaches was scheduled to take place this week.

The Board has approved a contract for the services of retired Judge Emil Giordano to conduct an unspecified investigation in the Bethlehem Area School District.

Catchy music, bowties, dresses, and smiles light up the auditorium of William Allen High School for a Latin dance-off.

The school has been locked down for four consecutive days. A statement posted on the LCTI website said state and federal authorities were investigating the reports, and false threats to the tipline would be prosecuted.

Allentown School District Acting Superintendent Carol Birks joined the city's mayor, Matt Tuerk, for a conversation on issues facing the school district and plans for the future.