Haverhill’s Jenny Arndt is on the move! After five years at Creative Haverhill, Arndt has accepted a new role as campaign director for Haverhill Promise, the city’s 18-month-old effort to get schoolchildren reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade.
As Arndt tells WHAV, she’s most excited to motivate students and families to seek creative solutions to narrow the city’s achievement gap.
“We lean a lot on the teachers and the parents to raise our city’s future leaders, but what I’m learning through the work of Haverhill Promise is that it is going to take a village—or a city of 60,000 in our case—to identify the issues, seek creative solutions, and motivate these students to live up to their potential,” Arndt said.
“Up to now, my work in the city of Haverhill has been about enriching lives through art and experiences. The work that Haverhill Promise is doing has the power to change lives and impact families for generations to come,” Arndt continued.
Arndt joins the likes of Haverhill Public Schools physician Dr. John Maddox, state Rep. Andy Vargas, Superintendent Margaret Marotta and several others on the Haverhill Promise steering committee. WHAV serves as the group’s media partner.
Creative Haverhill Project Manager Erin Padilla plans to take over Arndt’s duties in the interim, Arndt said. That group continues to work to renovate the former Cogswell School into a creative arts space.