K-12 News

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.

The Lehigh Valley’s James Lawson Freedom School is a six-week summer program that uses a multicultural literacy curriculum and an intergenerational teaching model.

Alicia Knauff is poised to take over as the acting head principal of the high school just months after she was hired as the first principal of Allen’s Ninth Grade Academy.

The district will keep the building and surrounding property with the intention of reopening the school at a later date that has not yet been determined.

The Da Vinci Science Center and Friends of the Allentown Parks are partnering to make science more accessible to Allentown kids and open their eyes to what's around them.

Lehigh has been hosting SSP’s International’s Summer Science Program this summer. During the five-week course, students get hands-on experience completing college-level research while getting a feel for campus life.

Current state guidelines say schools should move to 100% virtual instruction in counties with “substantial transmission” rates. But many Lehigh Valley schools remain open, despite meeting that standard.

State officials say they are concerned about student cyber safety. With so many Pennsylvania students attending classes virtually now, reports of online harassment and threats of violence are rising.

When schools closed in March many parents became teachers overnight. But for those who have children with special needs, virtual learning presented a real-world challenge.

Students across the Lehigh Valley have been speaking out about racial inequalities in schools. And as part of these discussions, students say that they don’t want the police to play a role in their academic future. WLVR’s Genesis Ortega reports.

Summertime is typically a time for kids to get a break from school. It can also be a time for summer slide; the learning loss many children experience during summer vacation. And this year, COVID-19 class cancellations turned what’s typically a two month recess into six months.

For 34 years, Russell Valentini, the man Allentown knows as Rooster, has been the one person families could turn to. When landlords locked them out, when shelters were full and when there was no cash left to pay for dinner.

Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts found a creative way to safely celebrate their graduating seniors.

Athletic competition could soon return to parts of Pennsylvania. WESA’s Sarah Schneider reports that new preliminary guidance was released Wednesday, June 10.

For a full list of our reports and resources, visit WLVR.org/health and keep up with the latest news on this situation on our Live Blog.