School News

LehighValleyNews.com and PBS39 will host a community conversation on the future of Allentown School District tonight, bringing together stakeholders to address issues facing educators, students and public education.

Dieruff and Allen high schools and Trexler Middle School were locked down Monday after multiple unsubstantiated threats of mass violence were made to the district. Additional threats were made to Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, which also closed for the remainder of the day.

Muhlenberg College senior Alex Wagner praised Lehigh Valley political candidates who were present and engaged with college students well before the midterms approached. He said it helped push young voters to the polls, and made a difference in several key races.

Rangina Hamidi, Afghanistan's former Minister of Education, will give this year's Wallenberg Tribute Lecture

LCTI students were either evacuated from the building or sent back to home schools if en route

The protesters spoke on the need for transparency and worry about corruption in the Allentown School District in the wake of John Stanford's removal.

The 77-year-old motorist received two citations and will not face serious criminal charges in the death of teacher's aide Angela Yowakim, the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office said.

Community members supportive of ASD Superintendent John Stanford protested his firing by the Allentown school board Wednesday morning at the Lehigh County Courthouse. Stanford's last day on the job is Friday.

Allentown school board approved a separation agreement with Superintendent John D. Stanford at Thursday's school board meeting. The terms and reason for the dismissal have not been disclosed.

The Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School is well on its way to moving in to its new location on Avenue C in Bethlehem by next school year.

A proposed 25,800-square-foot childcare center in Salisbury Township would be named in memory of Monsignor John P. Murphy, long-time cleric in Allentown who died in 2023 at age 86.

Students have been learning online since last Wednesday. Teachers are reporting to other schools throughout the district to lead their online classrooms.

Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley will all continue sending their students to the vocational-technical school. This agreement comes after months of tense debate about the school's future.

The Whitehall-Coplay School Board on Monday accepted a letter of retirement from Director of Athletics Bob Hartman. Hartman has served in that role for 23 years. His retirement is effective in August.

The donations will go toward family engagement, peer mentoring and elementary athletics programs as a long-term strategy for preventing crime and drug use.

The Allentown School Board approved the purchase of land for a new K-8 school Thursday. School directors faced critiques of the land's price tag and the construction management firm it chose for the school project.

Superintendent Carol Birks said compliance with federal guidelines will focus on the language ASD uses rather than a complete overhaul of its programs.

Cedar Crest College will use a $608,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department for creation of an Expert Witness Training Center and Crime Scene Lab.

If the policy is approved, Bethlehem Area would become the fifth district in the region to put a generative AI policy on the books.

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.