School News

School directors voted 5-4 Tuesday to part ways with now former Superintendent Michael Mahon, who was on administrative leave for the last five months.

The Southern Lehigh School Board will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of Southern Lehigh High School to vote on both a separation agreement and mutual general release agreement between the district and Superintendent Michael Mahon.

Allentown school directors approved the $1.14 million partnership Thursday. The agreement runs from next month to June 30, 2028.

Alicia Knauff will start as the new acting head principal of Allen on Monday. She was hired as the principal of the school's Ninth Grade Academy before being tapped shortly after for the acting head role.

Superintendent Carol Birks said she doesn't have to talk about where she lives. School directors defended Birks from social media posts questioning her residency.

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.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

The interactive event features a local author and historian discussing the birth of the U.S. Constitution for children ages 7-12 years old.

The event focused on Yusuf Dahl, an ex-con turned real estate mogul who was rejected from renting a house in Allentown due to his former incarceration.

Undergraduate students could qualify for up to four years of studies

Shelly (Jacobs) Bartolacci is retiring as an Easton girls basketball coach three years after retiring from teaching. Her retirement marks the end of a 54-year association with the Easton Area School District as a student, teacher or coach.

Lehigh Carbon Community College has gotten a $200,000 grant that will be used to help Hispanic students pursue STEM majors.

The classroom business Suds-abilities helps developmentally disabled students gain social and vocational skills in school.

DeSales University professor Elisabeth Felten is in her second year teaching non-traditional, special needs adults to give them a college experience.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Bob Stem is the winningest football coach for two high schools — Bethlehem Catholic and Phillipsburg, his alma mater. Stem, a teacher and coach for most of his life, died Friday at age 84.

The school district is asking families whether they support adding metal detectors to the high schools.

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with digital content producer Kat Dickey and managing producer Stephanie Sigafoos.