School News

Parkland High School teachers reported suspected misconduct by ex-performing arts administrator Frank Anonia more than a decade before his arrest on charges of secretly recording a student in a dressing room, a former teacher testified. Anonia is due in court for a criminal trial this week.

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.

Education advocates from POWER Interfaith held a town hall on fair funding for public schools Thursday at Resurrected Life Church in Allentown. State reps. Mike Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer attended, along with Bethlehem Area school directors.

Students from the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts will have their creations showcased at a new "Industrial Chic" exhibition at the school's Corpora Gallery. There will be a free reception Friday evening on May 2.

Parker Flamisch, a 2023 district graduate, will fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former school Director Kim Bretzik. He will finish out Bretzik's term, which ends in December.

Allentown teen among was among honorees at the 2024 Pennsylvania Registered Apprenticeship & Registered Pre-Apprenticeship Awards held at Northampton Community College on Wednesday afternoon.

Six of the nine candidates for Allentown School Board participated in the Tuesday event, which was organized by the Allentown Crime Watch Presidents’ Council in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County.

Easton Area School District's board approved a resolution detailing their opposition to the Easton Commerce Park warehouse, citing traffic and environmental concerns, at their Tuesday meeting.

Unless Francis Anonia and Lehigh County prosecutors can reach a plea deal in the coming weeks, Anonia's trial for allegedly recording an underage student without his consent will begin in September.

East Penn School District's board voted Monday to move their 2025-26 budget closer to approval.

Whitehall-Coplay School Board approved a $103 million budget proposal on Monday night. Residents told the board they can't afford another property tax hike.

Bethlehem Township Planning Commission approved a site plan for a new fieldhouse at Freedom High School during their Monday meeting.

Jace Pooley, 16, recently wrote an article about his experience with autism for Pediatrics, a scholarly journal. Today, he's leading the First Annual Autism Community Walk in Bethlehem.

Alicia Knauff will lead Allen High School's Ninth Grade Academy as its first ever principal. She's a former Whitehall-Coplay school administrator.