November, 2011 Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) was recently recognized by Protect Mass Children for his years of advocacy in support of passing stronger state laws to protect children from sexual predators. “Senator Tarr has worked to protect the community throughout his entire career; it is an honor to be able to recognize Senator […]
Catholic Church to Close Saint Mary’s After Promising to keep it Open By: Tom Duggan – May, 2011 Hundreds of students, parents and supporters of Saint Mary’s School of the Assumption in Lawrence, rallied and held a vigil Saturday to oppose the decision of the Boston Archdiocese of the Catholic Church to close the school […]
By: Peter Larocque – May, 2011 When words in our English Language are used without any adherence to their meaning or definition, the result is meaningless! Please allow me to explain. To put things in perspective, here’s a little timeline without re-hashing all the details. Former Lawrence School Superintendent Dr. Laboy went on sick […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – April, 2011 While everyone wants to feel good and say nice things, it is hard to feel good or say nice things about what is going on in the Lawrence Schools. Yes, there are successful students there. Yes, there are great teachers, and yes there are good programs and happy […]
By: Gerry Nutter, April – 2011 “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one).” Mr. Spock I have used that phrase before but it comes to my mind every year around budget time for the Lowell Public Schools. The week after this paper hits the newsstands Lowell will […]
By: Lawrence, “Lonnie” Brennan – April, 2011 Some interesting shell games are going on before our eyes. One of the most interesting is the creation of a new centralized town maintenance department, funded via a new $729,583 proposition 2 ½ override. The cool thing about it (for the proponents of the bill) is that […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – April, 2011 While everyone wants to feel good and say nice things, it is hard to feel good or say nice things about what is going on in the Lawrence Schools. Yes, there are successful students there. Yes, there are great teachers, and yes there are good programs and happy […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL MARCH, 2011 In the real world, ordinary citizens who bribe lawmakers for favors suffer serious consequences. Big fines and/or jail time are the rule. But this is not so with public employee unions. These groups donate thousands of dollars to the election campaigns of lawmakers, who in turn, favor them with […]
SCULLY RETURNS! By: Tom Duggan – February, 2011 When Lawrence School Superintendent Jim Scully was fired by the School Committee back in 1997, the injustices were numerous. He was accused of misspending public dollars by a School Committee that had approved every single expenditure they fired him for. The press, in particular Boston […]
Scully talks of his departure from Lawrence in 1998, the challenges Haverhill faces and the controversy on his salary By: Tom Duggan – February, 2011 Former Lawrence School superintendent Jim Scully has been hired as the new superintendent in Haverhill. Valley Patriot president Tom Duggan interviewed Scully on WHAV last week about his […]
January, 2011 Northern Essex Community College’s laboratory science associate degree, which prepares students for biotechnology jobs, has just received the highest endorsement from representatives from the biotechnology industry. The college’s program was one of eight community college programs to be endorsed by the Massachusetts Life Science Education Consortium (MLSEC) and one of four colleges […]
By: Peter Larocque -January, 2011 As we begin 2011, should we even dare ask this question? It would seem to me that before we place a list of complaints at the feet of our Public Schools we should at least let them know what our expectations are! It is totally unfair to our public […]
By: Austin Roy, Teen Columnist – December, 2010 Remember this Christmas; When you’re eating your dinners, smiling and laughing, remember that somewhere, in another house there’s an empty chair where a hero should be sitting. Those Heroes gave up their life so you can sit with your family. So light a candle for the Heroes that […]
By: Sandra Stotsky – November, 2010 SPECIAL TO THE VALLEY PATRIOT “Dr. Ormsby is taking the month off to assess the existential meaning of the election results. He will return in December.” A mesmerizing phrase regularly rolls off the tongues of education experts these days. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan used it in a […]
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX EXTRA By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – October, 2010 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NY TIMES In my experience teaching college freshmen, my sense is that the average level of academic rigor in our public schools has fallen significantly over the past five decades. Even in wealthy communities, only a fraction of parents […]