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.

Also citing presidential executive orders, NASD could up going over its coursework with a fine-tooth comb.

Northampton Area School Board approved its role in the deal, while Bethlehem Area School Board is up for the same vote in the coming weeks.

A draft version of East Penn School District's budget for the 2025-2026 school year includes a 0.84-mill tax hike. The district has raised property taxes nine times in the past 10 years.

V Spehar became famous for UnderTheDeskNews, explaining complex topics in a conversational, to-the-point fashion. On Thursday night, Spehar gave a Q&A with Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble.

The interim principal will take over for Harrison Bailey III, who has accepted the position of superintendent of the Wilson Area School District. A search is underway for someone to fill the job permanently.

The Wilson Area School Board approved the appointment of Amy Austin as the new assistant superintendent. She had been the district's director of curriculum and instruction since 2023 and is a former principal.

The Bethlehem Area School Board's curriculum committee said it would like to talk more with the district and its stakeholders on the future of local school sports programming.

Lehigh Valley Health Network Childcare Center at River Crossing YMCA observed its 100th day of operation. Services are available for LVHN employees and other community families.

Easton Area School Board settled on a site for the new high school during its Jan. 28 meeting, but concerns over cost remain ever present.

Parkland School District Superintendent Mark Madson is the latest school official to spell out policies and procedures related to immigration. It comes as the new Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration and has said it will allow arrests at schools.

While it doesn't have a vote in the matter, Easton Area School District's board opened up a discussion over student and community concerns linked to the controversial warehouse plan at the Easton-Wilson Borough border.

A fraction of Lafayette College's faculty signed a no-confidence motion against President Nicole Hurd. On Tuesday night, a majority of the nearly 200 faculty members who voted passed the measure.