ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Louis E. Dieruff High School Principal Michael Makhoul resigned from the Allentown School District effective April 30th.
The school board approved his departure at its Thursday night board meeting. Melissa Petronio is serving as acting principal.
- Dieruff Principal Michael Makhoul is leaving the Allentown School District
- He's been the principal since 2019
- A source with a family connection to Makhoul said he was butting heads with new Superintendent Carol Birks
Board Director Lisa Conover said she is concerned about the rate of turnover in the district.
"There's a lot of people leaving this district and I've said it before and I'll say it again, I feel like they're being pushed out," she said. "Or they're being let go. And I have yet to see exit interviews."
Makhoul became Dieruff's principal in 2019, after holding the assistant principal position since 2011. As principal, he helped the East Allentown community, with its large Syrian population, cope with the tragic death of teacher's aide Angela Yowakim, who was struck by a vehicle crossing the street by the school.
There's a lot of people leaving this district and I've said it before and I'll say it again, I feel like they're being pushed out.School Board Director Lisa Conover
But according to a stakeholder who spoke to him at recent event, Makhoul was having trouble adjusting to new Schools Superintendent Carol Birks. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a family connection to Makhoul, said the principal had repeated run-ins with Birks.
Calls to Makhoul did not receive a reply. A request for comment to the school district did not receive an immediate response.
There is also an acting principal at William Allen High School. Principal Cheryl Cheryl Clark was put on administrative leave earlier this month after continuous of complaints from staff, students and parents about her leadership style. Frank Derrick has taken over her role.
Clark had been the school's first Black woman leader, appointed by former Superintendent John Stanford.
The school year got off to a rocky start at Allen when in August 2022, students started a Change.org petition alleging the newly-hired principal yelled at them and threatened 11th-graders with grade-wide detentions.
Teachers said Clark yelled at students, teachers and staff.
The Allentown School District posted a job description on March 18 for an “anticipated opening” for a high school principal. The description does not state which high school in the district is seeking a new principal.
