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.

The applicant Eric Moyer said he is considering appealing the decision or proposing a different development at the 3599 Broadway site.

The schools are under pressure from the Shapiro administration to improve outcomes for students.

The high school run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown serves students recovering from addiction.

Unified Track and Field teams have emerged at William Allen and Emmaus high schools, joining a growing statewide network forming connections between students with and without special needs

Lisa Dente, 41, a teacher at Five Points Elementary School in Upper Mount Bethel Township, will run the Boston Marathon for the first time since the bombing in 2013 to raise money for PTSD victims.

Take a look at stories 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 superintendent details new initiatives and cost-cutting measures.

The African singer will perform a mix of old hits and new songs at her concert on Tuesday April 25.

Dozens of bus monitors, who provide support to students while riding, have been laid off because of funding cuts in Allentown.

In filings released Thursday, lawyers for the Saucon Valley School District defended the decision to bar an "after-school Satan club" from campus, and said the group can reapply after the district makes a few policy changes.

The dance troupe entertained middle school and college students at a free performance on Thursday, April 13.

Muhlenberg College announced its second academic partnership with Villanova University today. This partnership will allow Muhlenberg prehealth students to earn a second bachelors in nursing at Villanova’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing in an accelerated time frame.