ColuMBIA GAS, CHANGING EDUCATION FUNDING ARE TOP PRIORITIES By: Tom Duggan, November, 2018 North Andover native Christina Minicucci – a Democrat – defeated Republican Ryan Losco earlier this month to replace outgoing State Rep. Diana DiZoglio representing Methuen, North Andover, Haverhill, and Lawrence. We caught up to Minicucci the day after the election to find […]
By: DJ Deeb – Dec. 2017 Although I ran unopposed in the recent municipal elections, it is nice to know that I am officially back on the Methuen School Committee. I want to take an opportunity to congratulate my colleagues Jana DiNatale, Bob Vogler, and Nick DiZoglio on their re-election bids. I also want to […]
By: Tom Duggan – 11-14-17 Lawrence Superintendent-Receiver Jeff Riley is expected to announce his resignation Wednesday just one week after the reelection of Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera. Riley was appointed by state officials to run the chronically under-performing school district nearly seven years ago. Since then he has acted as both superintendent and school committee, […]
By: DJ DEEB – June, 2017 At our May 22nd Methuen School Committee meeting, members of the committee voted to approve an operating budget for fiscal year 2018 of $72 million, a decrease of 2% from last year’s operating budget of $73.47 million. This is a positive development given the constraints of our city, but […]
By: Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – Jan. 2017 Before I list several very challenging issues that we will likely face in this Session – some good news: Massachusetts was recently ranked the number one state in the country for quality of life by a fre quented website, 24/7 Wall St. This ranking was based upon […]
By: Tom Duggan – Nov. 2016 With all the media lies and misrepresentations about Donald Trump before the election, it’s hard to know what was real and what was just made-up, anti-Trump hysteria. So, what will Donald Trump do as president? Nobody really knows the answer to that since he has never been elected to […]
By: Dani Langevin – Sept. 2016 Last month, Tom Duggan posted a comment asking people if they supported merit pay for teachers and the claws came out. I’ve been an educator for my entire adult life and I have never come face to face with anyone who expressed disdain for my field. I know few […]
By: John MacDonald – July, 2016 The reality of UMass Lowell and its significant impact on the City of Lowell has hit hard lately. UMass Lowell recently purchased Perkins Park Residences and Lofts for a reported $61.5 million dollars , a purchase that has infuriated much of the residents in Lowell, the City of Lowell […]
By: Tom Duggan – 6-12-16 There is a war brewing in Methuen over Mayor Zanni’s proposed city budget, which School Committeeman Nick DiZoglio says “shortchanges our students” and “is a disgrace in a community like Methuen.” While Mayor Zanni proposes an increase in the school budget, not a decrease, DiZoglio called the budget measure a “cut” for the […]
By: Sandra Stotsky – June, 2016 There has been a long, slow decline in the reading level of American high school graduates. Our kids are not reading much at the secondary level, and what they do read may not develop college-level reading and vocabulary skills. Perhaps Bay State English teachers should consider research evidence as […]
PAYING ATTENTION! ON-LINE EXTRA On the day of the Challenger explosion I was teaching at the Henry K. Oliver School in Lawrence. Having lost my first bid for school committee at 18 years old, I had been offered a position as a substitute teacher and oddly enough, made a permanent substitute almost immediately […]
“We’ve turned a corner,” said Rep. Jim Lyons, “but we still have a long, long way to go.” Reflecting on the first half of the 2015-2016 legislative sessions, State Representative Jim Lyons (R-Andover) noted that it was a productive year marked by many legislative accomplishments, although vital challenges remain to be addressed. “From the beginning,” […]
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is due to make a formal recommendation on whether to adopt the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test or to continue with the MCAS test at their meeting on November 17. In the final weeks leading up to the decision, the debate […]
By: Ana DeBernardo – Nov. 2015 It’s a truth universally acknowledged that teenagers all come accompanied by a bad rep. Whether they’re being moody, stubborn, angry, or just plain brats, I’m pretty sure no one would want to be stuck living this age forever. Many people even view the teen years as nothing more than […]
By: Amy Berard – November, 2015 1. How often is the SpEd (Special Education) teacher in the inclusion classroom? At an IEP meeting, parents will be notified if their child is in an inclusion class. A class is labeled as an inclusion class when a SpEd teacher is pushing in to provide extra support for […]