By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – Nov. 2021 It is time to get serious about mental health services for our students. Even for years before the pandemic, we saw a concerning rise in stress, anxiety, and depression among young people. COVID-19 only made things worse. Last year, many Massachusetts emergency rooms saw 4 times […]
In a spirited back and forth with Valley Patriot publisher, Tom Duggan, on the Paying Attention! Podcast, Methuen Mayor Neil Perry said, unequivocally, that Critical Race Theory is not being taught in the Methuen Schools. The topic came up after a Methuen third grade teacher was called out on social media for signing a […]
11/20/21 Educators in Lawrence were encouraged to attend a race-based, segregated “Auditing” session being conducted by a radical left-wing, racist group called BlackPrint. According to their website, BlackPrint teaches and encourages the teaching of “White Privilege” (that White people are inherently racist and enjoy privileges in society other races don’t enjoy). BlackPrint first conducts an “audit” […]
EMAIL TO ALL EDUCATORS From: Christopher Markuns <Christopher.Markuns@lawrence.k12.ma.us> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2021 3:50:19 PM Subject: LPS Equity Audit Town Hall Dear Lawrence Public Schools educators, In the spring of 2020, LPS committed to a process of creating an actively anti-racist school system. The country’s struggle to respond coherently to equity issues paired with the […]
Hero veteran Michael Downs has thrown his hat into the race for city council in Methuen’s West End. With both incumbents seeking reelection for a second term, Downs would have to unseat one of them on November 2nd to take a seat on the Methuen City Council. Downs is a former principal in the […]
By: Bill Cushing – Sept. 2021 Netflix’s new limited dramedy series ‘The Chair’ is the perfect sized binge. Six episodes, each about 30 minutes, loaded with plot and filled with humor. The show is interesting, engaging, and a really fun watch. ‘The Chair’ takes place over a few weeks at the fictional Pembrooke University […]
Babies illustrate for us what it means to be fundamentally human. Anthropologists tell us that the first word a baby speaks, ‘mama’, is based on the mother representing food. It’s the sound they make with their mouth when wanting milk. It’s related to the sound we still make as adults when we approve of something […]
Valley Patriot Mascot, Kane August, 2021 Kane knows Representative Colleen Garry. In fact, she is known by many as a strong supportive advocate of the medical front line workers, veterans, police officers, firefighters, EMS, and other first responders. What does she do that is so unique? Well, Kane says she does the most important thing […]
Gov. Baker Highlights School’s Excellence as Impetus for Expanded Technical Education Funding ANDOVER – Superintendent John Lavoie is pleased to share that Greater Lawrence Technical School has been awarded a $220,000 Skills Capital Grant from the Baker-Polito Administration. The grant was announced during a ceremony held at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School on Monday, Aug. […]
Buttonwoods Museum Guest Curator Dr. Graciela Trilla, of Haverhill, MA is thrilled to share her family’s collection of Puerto Rican art works by the artists of the distinguished “Generación de los Cincuenta” (the generation of the 1950s). It will feature 41 pieces of art created in various mediums including paintings, drawings, lithographs, wood carving prints, and […]
BOSTON – In an audit released today, the Office of State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump (OSA) found Northern Essex Community College (NECC) has failed to take steps previously recommended by the office to better safeguard and track the college’s valuable property. The audit also showed NECC did not always obtain required documentation, including approvals, for expenditures. […]
ANDOVER — A Quincy veteran now has a car he can drive to work, thanks to Greater Lawrence Tech and nonprofit Second Chance Cars. Superintendent John Lavoie, Second Chance Cars Executive Director Dan Holin, School Committee Member Marilyn Fitzgrald, car donor Luanne Goehring of Carlisle, Rep. Tami Gouveia of Acton, and others gathered on […]
The School Nutrition Foundation (SNF), the charitable arm of the non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA), has named Robert Frati, food service director of Methuen Public Schools in Methuen, MA, as the recipient of the SNF Winston Equipment Grant for school meal program equipment. Facing continued challenges stemming from the pandemic, school nutrition professionals around the […]
ANDOVER — Superintendent John Lavoie reports the Greater Lawrence Tech School Committee has approved plans for a phased return to facilitate more in-person learning for career and technical education classes. The transition falls in line with guidance from the Department and Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that a return to fully in-person learning, with […]
NECC Announces Graduation Plans For the Class of 2021 The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on just about everything, including the way colleges celebrate their graduates. Last year, Northern Essex Community College’s traditional graduation ceremony—typically held in May under a 3,000-person tent on the Haverhill Campus quad—was cancelled and replaced with a virtual ceremony […]