School News

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.

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.

Aryash Shyam, a rising eighth-grader at Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School, created the GreenBeam to kill weeds with a laser. The project got him named the Pennsylvania State Merit Winner in the 2025 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

The state Office of Open Records has ordered the Allentown School District to release records connected to BusPatrol, the contractor responsible for administering the district’s stop-arm camera enforcement program.

A former Easton Area High School resource officer who pleaded guilty to sending a sexually explicit image of himself to a 16-year-old female student in 2024 was sentenced to 9-to-24 months in Northampton County Prison, it was announced on Wednesday.

The Trump administration announced in late June that it would not pay out more than $6 billion allocated through six grant programs created by Congress. For Parkland School District, that works out to $410,000 in lost funding.

Wilson Area High School Principal John Martuscelli soon will have a bit more time on his hands to focus on his grandson and his golf game.

A previous estimate for the proposed 1-million-square-foot warehouse shows the district would receive around $5 million from the property over 10 years with LERTA in effect.

Easton Area School District officials stated an agreement to improve Vanderveer Park may be up for a vote at their September 24 meeting, in addition to the board considering improvements at Paxinosa to establish a walking path.

Superintendent Jack Silva will work to improve academic achievement and attendance this school year. He also spoke about his goals for the next few years.

Robert Steckel became superintendent of the Whitehall-Coplay School District in 2021. “I’ll have more to say at a later meeting, but I am here to assist the board with the search process and ensure that a smooth transition occurs to whoever the successor is," he said.

In appreciation for the early intervention services he received at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20, Nazareth Area High School junior Brody Muthard, 16, has chosen to build a playground there for autistic children for his Boy Scout Eagle Scout project.

Over the next five years, Muhlenberg Inside-Out will collaborate with Promise Neighborhoods of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Lehigh Valley Technical Institute on re-entry initiatives for people returning home from jail or prison.

Governor Josh Shapiro came to a growing district in the Lehigh Valley — East Penn School District — to celebrate an increase in public school funding through the 2024-25 Pennsylvania state budget.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, said bad actors like Russia are abusing their place in the world order. But until a viable alternative exists, responsible citizens must engage in systems like the U.N. to work toward a better future.

On Aug. 23, ASD's solicitor rescinded a cease-and-desist letter sent to the Allentown-based, anti-poverty nonprofit organization more than two years ago.

Bethlehem Area School Board approved 2024-25 academic action plans for seven schools that the state Department of Education has declared are in need of performance improvement and support.

Only 12 community colleges in Pennsylvania were awarded a total of $33 million in grants to go toward upgrades. Two schools in the Lehigh Valley were on the receiving end of that.

Bethlehem Area School Board members Emily Schenkel, Winston Alozie and Kim Shively, as well as board President Michael Faccinetto, were celebrated Monday for their five- and 15-year tenures.

Teamster Local 773 Clerical and Secretarial Employees ratified a tentative agreement with the school district. It must be approved by the Bethlehem Area School Board to take effect.