LAWRENCE – Despite the fact that Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera is a Democrat who endorsed Attorney General Martha Coakley, Rivera has been asked to join the transition team for Governor-Elect Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor-Elect Karyn Polito. Mayor Rivera attended the first meeting of the Better Government sub-committee meeting in Boston yesterday evening, where the […]
This is part II of Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan’s interview with Lawrence State Receiver for the Lawrence Public Schools who took over and replaced the school committee nearly three years ago. Jeff Riley interview PART 1 Here DUGGAN: What are your thoughts on the teacher’s union. RILEY: There’s this huge fight in the […]
Last Year, Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan sat down with Jeff Riley, the man tapped by the Massachusetts Department of Education to run the Lawrence Schools after putting the city schools into receivership. This year we did a follow up interview to see what has changed for the good and bad. Here is Part I […]
READ PART I This is part 2 of an exclusive interview with state appointed receiver Jeff Riley who is now in control of the Lawrence School System. VP: Talk a little bit about the grants that come in that are not part of the budget process. JR: There are different opportunities to go out […]
October, 2013 – Valley Patriot Publisher Tom Duggan sat down with Lawrence Superintendent/Receiver Jeff Riley of the Lawrence Public Schools for a one on one interview. Riley was appointed Receiver of the Lawrence Public Schools by the Massachusetts Department of Education after an 81 page report detailed the lack of leadership of the Lantigua […]
“The help we give to Lawrence will not be an infusion of capital it will be getting at some management changes.” Deval Patrick January, 2010 “My goal is to decentralize” Jeff Riley 2011 By: Tom Duggan – April 16, 2013 When State Receiver Jeff Riley took over the failing Lawrence Public Schools more than two years ago, he promised to decrease the […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL June, 2012 Receiver Jeffrey Riley’s plan to improve the educational opportunities for the children of Lawrence contains a few ideas that, if fully exploited, may improve performance. That being said, the parents of Lawrence’s school children and the taxpayers that fund this educational debacle, were both left out of the process of creating this […]
Free Dental for all LPS Students and their Families By: Tom Duggan, July, 2012 LAWRENCE – With the Lawrence Public School under the complete control of the State Department of Education there are a lot of changes coming to the school system, and a lot more money being spent.Where we are – State Commissioner […]
Last month, at The Valley Patriot’s 20th Anniversary BASH, not only did the newspaper give out $58,000 in scholarship money to local students but several people were honored for their work in the community with recognitions and awards. THE JOHN RATKA HERO VETERANS AWARD Because honoring Veterans is so much a part of what we […]
By: Ken Willette – 4-24 Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it—a stark warning during turbulent periods of our nation’s journey. One of my friends, Bob Rapazzo, is a world traveler who has been pictured outside the Great Pyramid of Giza and walked the same steps of ancient Greek philosophers. He once worked […]
By: Bill Cushing – Jan. 2024 It’s that time of year again. That time when all TV people start thinking about the best shows that they watched over the past year. As usual, it was tough to leave some shows off the list, but here are my picks for the best TV had to offer […]
Four years ago, one of our readers, Al Veilleux donated $500 to start a scholarship in memory of Dan Coady Jr. who was killed in tragic accident on Rt. 495 just a week before our annual BASH in 2018. Each year Al asks that we keep the Dan Coady Memorial Scholarship going for students who […]
Lawrence Mayor Brian A. DePena’s Office gratefully welcomed his new partnership with Beacon Mobility to not only help the City of Lawrence with the Mayor’s Economic Prosperity Plan by training and hiring our residents, but it will also help us protect our children’s health by reducing pollution. With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of […]
ANDOVER – Superintendent John Lavoie is pleased to announce that a Greater Lawrence Technical School student has been nominated as a U.S. Presidential Scholar. Lourdes Luna Ceballos, a senior from Lawrence, studies Medical Assisting. Ceballos is a certified medical assistant and will continue her education by entering the psychology field with hopes of becoming a […]
ANDOVER — Superintendent John Lavoie reports that the Greater Lawrence Technical School Committee has voted to modify the District’s school mask mandate. During its regular business meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15, the Committee voted to revise the policy to make masking optional for all students beginning on Monday, March 7. On Feb. 9, Education Commissioner […]