Fiorentini Pays Tribute to Late Haverhill Superintendent Buchanan: ‘A Good Man’

Dr. Raleigh Buchanan (Courtesy photograph)

Mayor James J. Fiorentini and member of the Haverhill School Committee Thursday paid special tribute to the late Dr. Raleigh Buchanan, honoring his commitment to children days after his death July 26 at age 78.

Pausing the meeting for a moment of silence, Fiorentini remembered the longtime North Carolina native as a “take charge” educator who came to Haverhill from Seekonk, Mass. in 2006.

“Every day, every time I saw him, he talked about children and how much he loved them,” Fiorentini said. “He was a good teacher, a good superintendent and most importantly, he was a good man.”

Fiorentini said Buchanan—whose tenure as the city’s top education chief ran from 2006-2010—was instrumental in creating the Haverhill High School’s Classical Academy and played a pivotal role in high school repairs shortly after coming to Haverhill.

Known as “Dr. B,” Buchanan started his career in education as a sixth grade teacher in Indiana and served as the principal of Brown Township Elementary School. Holding a Doctorate of Education from the University of Illinois, Buchanan also taught college-level school psychology.

Throughout his career, he worked at schools in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Maryland, and Seekonk.

In lieu of a service, his family asks people to post stories about him on the Facebook page, Raleigh Buchanan Memorial.

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