School News

Allentown School District held a kickoff event Thursday at South Mountain to tell students and families about the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program that gives each student an iPad for the school year.

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.

Kutztown University's jazz ensemble was recognized by DownBeat magazine for Outstanding Performance in its Student Music Awards. It's the 10th win for Kutztown's commercial music program but the first for the jazz ensemble.

Allentown School District will work with a new transportation provider next school year, Student Transportation of America. The district has a number of new transportation offerings for 2024-25, including free LANTA access for charter school students.

The annual Freddy Awards will take place at the State Theatre in Easton on May 23. Bangor Area High School's "Mean Girls: the High School Version," leads in nominations this year. Find a full list of the nominees here.

Parkland School District is considering building a ‘Multipurpose Athletics and Wellness Complex’ just south of Parkland High School. The projected cost is $19 million.

Easton City Council heard presentations for improvements intended for Vanderveer and Centennial Parks at their Wednesday meeting, and while the refreshed spaces were well received, the question of cost is still a concern.

Two Allentown School District teachers and a Salisbury Township School District teacher were chosen at random to participate in a shopping spree at Crayola Experience to help their students during Teacher Appreciation Week. The catch? They had just over a minute.

Bethlehem Area School District is collaborating with the borough to address traffic concerns at its Fountain Hill Elementary site for a new school building slated to open there by fall 2027.

Students at Liberty and Freedom high schools in the Bethlehem Area School District are required to perform community service in order to graduate.

A rally for Palestine was organized by students at Lehigh University in solidarity with student protests across the country. It capped a week of activities on the Bethlehem campus by the Student Political Action Coalition and Lehigh 4 Palestine.

A county judge ordered Northampton Area School District to appoint a new school director by June 3, or the court will take review applicants for the vacancy.

The administrator who heads Parkland schools’ arts programs has not been in school, and parents say they are seeking answers to why.

DeSales University on Wednesday announced the launch of a “new era of education” — complete with a business school tied to one of the region’s most prominent developers.