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.

Allentown School District officials said the proposal to allow schools in industrial zones was "simply not good planning" and not safe for children.

Building projects that would address overcrowding in the Parkland School District will cost between $169 million and $391 million, according to a presentation at the school board meeting this week.

Benita Draper was the director of equity initiatives for the Bethlehem Area School District and a former elementary school principal.

Paraprofessionals can get certified for free while continuing to work in their schools.

The Parkland School Board renewed a sports medicine and school health needs agreement with St. Luke's after state Sen. Jarrett Coleman urged them not to. He suggested the health network should find better ways to spend the money.

The school board is expected to vote on hiring a collection agency to target student overdue lunch bills at its next meeting.

St. Luke's University Health Network offers real-life experience to adolescents. The latest group is concluding their time as high school students in the field.

There are currently 111 schools that offer girls' wrestling in Pennslyvania. Easton was the second school district to form a team.

The House budget recently passed on a party-line vote increased school maintenance funding to $350 million from $100 million proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro

The employee under investigation at Easton Arts Academy Elementary Charter School was recently acting CEO until it hired its third CEO last month.

The East Penn School Board approved changes to the middle school calendar as recommended by teachers and administrators.

The East Penn School Board gave final approval to its 2023-24 budget and set a tax rate lower than initial projections. The new budget retains administrative priorities such as 7 reading interventionists and 6 learning support staffers.