School News

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.

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.

Students at Dieruff High School were placed on a brief lockdown Tuesday morning after a teen was taken into custody by law enforcement, authorities said.

Northampton Area Board of Education said it would have been on the hook for about $9.5 million if construction contracts were cancelled for a new elementary school.

Bethlehem Area School District's board of education heard a presentation on a proposed charter school, the Bethlehem STEAM Academy, on Monday evening, with the new learning institution focusing on "integrated learning."

Pa.'s governor wants more students to take advantage of the universal free breakfast program in schools across the state. He is challenging administrators to promote the program and increase participation.

The school district denied the application earlier this year. STEAM charters are also applying for charters in Bethlehem and Whitehall.

A bill that would give Pennsylvania school districts greater flexibility to have shorter school weeks or longer days is headed to the governor's desk.

Capt. Jonathan Taylor's sword is on display at Nitschmann Middle School. He died in early 1863 after being wounded 105 days earlier at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The newest iteration of the East Penn School Board had its first regular meeting, and established an agreement with Emmaus to hire elementary school crossing guards.

You are the Light is a recognition program in the Allentown School District that celebrates staff and students. The district randomly selects honorees each month to be featured on LehighValleyNews.com.

Former board members Nancy Wilt, Patrick Palmer and Evelyn Santana did not seek re-election.

A 54-year-old time capsule was removed from a cornerstone at Mosser Elementary School in Allentown on Thursday. A few alumni from the 1969 sixth grade class were in attendance.

Northampton Community College, Lehigh Carbon Community College and 13 other institutions have yet to receive operating funds authorized in the fiscal-year budget lawmakers approved over the summer.