
Sarah Mueller
Education reporterAn experienced journalist, I joined LehighValleyNews.com as its education reporter. I bring several years of media experience at public radio stations including NPR Illinois, WFSU Public Media and Delaware Public Media. I’ve covered state and local government, interviewing lawmakers, governors and congressional leaders. In my personal life, I’m a passionate animal lover, hiker and documentary enthusiast. A documentary for which I worked as a researcher, Fire in the Meadows, won first place at the 2022 Tallahassee Film Festival for best documentary short film. It explored the effects of an investor buying a local mobile home park, raising rents and forcing tenants out of their homes. Contact me at SarahM@lehighvalleynews.com or and subscribe to my newsletter here.
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Evelyn Santana was appointed in January to fill Nick Miller's vacant seat on the board. Miller was elected to the state Senate.
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The plan to bring in-house the routing of bus runs to start with 2023-24 school year was designed to save the Allentown School District money.
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Sources with information about the situation say Cheryl Clark will likely be demoted at Thursday's Allentown school board meeting. She was placed on administrative leave in April.
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Students are paid $15 an hour to work up to 30 hours a week. They can work in various areas such as schools or the central office.
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The Allentown school is looking for barbers, stylists and braiders to help students look their best for picture day on Oct. 13.
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The flower show is being hosted by Bethlehem Garden Club Friday and Saturday.
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The Allentown School District Foundation awarded 77 scholarships to students graduating from Allentown high schools this year, totaling more than $65,000.
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Dieruff High School junior Faith Gross competed against other aspiring actors at talent auditions in Orlando. Gross said she got three callbacks, including from a music producer.
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Gov. Josh Shapiro made a deal with Senate Republicans to include vouchers in the budget, angering Democrats and unions. He reversed that course of action after facing backlash and has promised to veto them.
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The Bethlehem Area School Board kept secret the findings of an independent investigation paid with taxpayer funds. The probe focused on an incident involving the superintendent and a Liberty High School assistant principal at a football game. The assistant principal filed a civil rights lawsuit against Roy and the district.
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Early education advocates say there has been a slow erosion of the number of programs, workers and classroom slots in the Lehigh Valley, and across Pennsylvania, since federal funding expired last year.
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The district said it's owed more than $700,000 in school lunch debt, unpaid tuition by ex-employees, missing or damaged Chromebooks and facility fees.
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The Basic Education Funding Commission failed to produce a bipartisan report. Instead it voted on two reports and only one garnered enough votes.
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About 600 elementary school kids watched the college's women's basketball team play as a reward for attending school regularly.
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The two school buses the district has already purchased are expected to be delivered sometime in April.
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The 20-year-old is a youth director with Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley. She graduated from William Allen High School in 2021 and won election to the school board in the November general election.
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Executive Education Academy Charter has been waiting to appeal its application denial since 2021. Gov. Josh Shapiro's nominees were just confirmed by the State Senate earlier this month.
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The grant money first approved by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 2018 can go toward making safety infrastructure improvements to facilities.
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The lawsuit alleged retired chief of schools Joe Roy punched an assistant principal during a 2022 high school football game.
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The social studies teacher at William Allen High School was accused of drug crimes following a March raid of her home by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. She resigned a few weeks later, citing "personal" reasons.
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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.
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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.