Northern Essex Community College President Lane Glenn moderates a panel discussion on “Improving Haverhill Schools: Objectives, Challenges, and Action Steps,” Wednesday, April 26.
Haverhill School Committee President Gail M. Sullivan is one of the panelists. (WHAV News photograph.)
Two public presentations and a panel discussion, aimed at improving school performance, are being planned by the Haverhill Education Coalition and the Haverhill Education Foundation.
“Reach Higher: A Haverhill Community Discussion on School Success” will be hosted by Haverhill Education Coalition’s Tim Jordan and feature economist Thomas Grannemann; Benjamin Forman, MassINC research director; and Lane Glenn, president of Northern Essex Community College. Grannemann, of Haverhill, launched a website, BenchmarkHaverhillSchools.com, earlier this month to compare city schools with those in other Gateway cities.
“I hope that this will prove to be a useful resource for those wishing to assess Haverhill progress toward better schools,” he said. According to his site, “Haverhill ranks low in key measures of school resources.” He cites Haverhill’s per pupil spending as ranking last among seven similar-income Gateway cities, last in the ratio of teachers to students and having average teacher salaries sixth lowest of seven similar-income Gateway Cities. Salaries also rank 18th among 18 adjacent and adjoining-adjacent Massachusetts communities, he says.
Glenn will moderate a panel discussion on “Improving Haverhill Schools: Objectives, Challenges, and Action Steps.” Panelists include Haverhill School Committee President Gail Sullivan, City Council President John Michitson and Dena Papanikolaou, a Haverhill resident, parent, and legal advocate. Mayor James Fiorentini has also been invited.
The free event takes place Wednesday, April 26, 7 p.m., at Hunking School Auditorium, 480 South Main St. The public is invited.
The Haverhill Education Coalition was formed in 2017, while the Haverhill Education Foundation dates back to 1990.