By: Amy Berard – August, 2015 I am one of the 59 Lawrence teachers whose contract was not renewed this year. Recently, on June 11, you reported on this. I would like to share with you and possibly your readers my experience teaching within the Lawrence Public School District. I have taught in Lawrence at […]
METHUEN – Will an orange float in a bucket of water? What if it is peeled? The fourth-graders at St. Monica School and those in Christine Habib’s class at the Marsh Grammar School learned the answers to those questions and more in a hands-on learning experience led by Mayor Stephen Zanni. Mayor Zanni was welcomed […]
The State of the City of Haverhill 2015 The Haverhill of Tomorrow Good evening and welcome. I would like to welcome and introduce members of our legislative delegation, school committee members and other elected officials. Ways and Means Committee chair, Brian Dempsey, State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives, State Representatives Linda Dean Campbell and Diana Dizoglio, […]
The Valley Patriot has covered many state corruption stories in the past ten and a half years. What we observed in that time is that scandals come and go, but very rarely does anything ever change. Our editorial board sat down with State Representative Jim Lyons and Shauna O’Connell to ask them the gravity of […]
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 […]
By Dani Langevin – November, 2013 This is the mission statement of the Common Core Standards (CCS) that has been adopted by the Massachusetts Department of Education. “The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to […]
By: Tom Duggan – October 23, 2013 (2:38pm) With no candidates challenging five term Haverhill Mayor Jim Fiorenitni in his bid for reelection next month, it looked like the longest serving mayor in Haverhill history was sailing to an uncontested win. “Not so fast,” says Haverhill Resident Tyler Kimball, owner of Kimball Farms and a […]
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 […]
October, 2013 (MERRIMACK VALLEY) – As part of her initiative to engage and educate students across the Merrimack Valley about the democratic process, State Rep. Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) visited Haverhill’s Hunking Middle School on Friday, October 4, marking her first stop on a Civic Education Tour. Invited to the event, held in the school’s gymnasium, […]
By: Tom Duggan – August 7, 2013 OTHER METHUEN STORIES Former State Senator James Jajuga is running for Methuen City Council At Large (city wide). Jajuga is a Vietnam Era Veteran, was a member of the Massachusetts State Police, is former Public Safety Commissioner and is the former […]
By Sandra Stotsky – July, 2013 Why Massachusetts needs to defund implementation and testing of Common Core’s current standards In this essay, I suggest why Common Core’s English language arts and mathematics standards need revision before further implementation in any Common Core state—and well before tests are given that are based on these flawed standards. […]
By: State Senator Katy O’Connor Ives – April 2013 As the legislative session heads into the spring, there are a series of important issues facing the Commonwealth. I’m highlighting transportation funding and child safety in this column. As always, I welcome your thoughts on these and other issues. Trains, roads and taxes Beacon Hill […]
By Peter Larocque – March, 2013 In spite of all that may be wrong with the City of Lawrence, including all the negative press surrounding the State and Federal investigations concerning allegations of wrong doing by Mayor Lantigua and his administration, in spite of it all, there’s Good in Lawrence. How do I know this? […]
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By: Peter Larocque – July, 2012 In case you didn’t know, In God We Trust is the motto of the United States of America and it has been on our coins beginning as far back as 1864. At first it was just printed on the new two cent coin, but by 1909 it was […]