Education

Northern Essex Community College Cannabis Education Program Fall Registration Monday

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Clarification: Program registration ends Monday. Northern Essex Community College closes registration Monday for its final cohort of the year for a nine-week cannabis education program. Green Flower, a California-based company that specializes in cannabis education has partnered with more than 60 colleges and universities nationwide since 2014, including Haverhill’s own Northern Essex. The company offers three certificate programs in cultivation, retail and extraction and product development. “Those are the three main business sectors in the industry,” Max Simon, chief executive officer of Green Flower told WHAV.

Haverhill

Haverhill DPW Director Says City Water is Safe; Apologizes for Lead Service Line Letters

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Haverhill water is safe to drink, despite worrying letters sent to some resident about lead concerns. Speaking before the City Council Tuesday night, Haverhill Public Works Director Robert E. Ward apologized for letters about possible lead in drinking water service lines. He said, “In hindsight, we probably should have got out in front of the notification and done some things differently. Lesson learned.” Mayor Melinda E. Barrett chimed in, saying state and federal agencies may have had reasons for sounding the alarm. “This letter was formed from DEP and EPA guidelines.

Education

Haverhill Looks to Better Match Students’ Education Options with Job Training

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(See related story.)

Local leaders in business, government and education put their heads together Monday in an effort to address opportunity gaps in workforce development for city students and adults. Members of the Haverhill City Council’s Planning and Development Committee, spearheaded by Councilor John A. Michitson, looked at ways to ease worker shortages, expand opportunities for area students and enable more flexibility in student career training, particularly at Haverhill High School. His rationale for the meeting, he said, is the increased need for workers with career skills and an education. “The world is changing and moving towards this model for each student to learn career skills in addition to preparing for college. Flexibility is the name of the game,” he said.

Education

Haverhill Official Says Job Matching Programs Need Improved Targeting, Not More Public Money

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(See related story.)

During a forum Monday looking at how to better match students with jobs, Community Development Division Director Andrew K. Herlihy pointed to an unexpected problem. Herlihy, who also represents the city on the MassHire Merrimack Valley Workforce Board, said there’s plenty of money, but some of it is being returned unused. “This is not a problem of resources,” he said. “The issue here is not to go after the mayor or delegation for more money. Our local workforce system, which includes MassHire, is a $14.3 million system.

Education

Haverhill Public Schools Win State Education Grant to Improve Dyslexia Action Plan

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Haverhill Public Schools has been accepted into a staff training program to better accommodate students with dyslexia. Haverhill School Committee members learned recently the district won a grant from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Haverhill to work with the Dyslexia Institute to build and improve the school system’s dyslexia action plan. The Institute is operated by Crafting Minds, a nonprofit built by developmental psychologist Dr. Melissa Orkin and others at the Tufts Center for Reading and Language Research. ELA Curriculum Supervisor Jennifer Peterson said the program consists of a hybrid 45-hour course taking place between April and October. A team, consisting of special and English Language Arts educators, had its first session in October and its first in-person session Nov.

Education

Haverhill’s Nettle School Students Could Soon Receive Benefits of a Comfort Dog Provided by Teacher

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Students and staff will soon welcome a new four-legged friend into the Dr. Paul C. Nettle School community. School Principal Eileen Doherty explained the value to School Committee members last week. She said “We also have the same mental health challenges that a lot of schools have. We have students struggling with anything from anxiety and depression to poor school attendance.” The comfort dog will also be used for separate programs to teach students responsibility and empathy, as well as to reduce stress among students and faculty. “I think if you look out there, I think there’s a lot of research that supports the idea of having a comfort animal in a school.

Education

Haverhill School Committee Considers ‘Discipline Policy’ Following Charges Against Member

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The Haverhill School Committee Thursday sent a proposed “School Committee member or appointee Discipline Policy” to a committee for further study.  The policy includes a wide range of possible penalties. The policy, crafted in the wake of charges against Committee member Cheryl A. Ferguson, proposes a series of actions against someone accused, including an initial order to “stay away from all school buildings” and, after legal processes have concluded, penalties such as a “public reprimand, censure, suspension, call for resignation, or removal of the accused from the position held…” The policy brought forth by Committee Vice Chairman Paul A. Magliocchetti would address circumstances where a school official is accused of criminal or other misconduct. “In light of our recent events, we’ve been acting and following through with the interests of protecting the children and families in the city and in our schools,” Magliocchetti said. “During this process, we all had questions.

Haverhill

Haverhill Officials Report Progress on Curtailing Truck Drivers’ Illegal City Parking

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Elected leaders say they have a “great game plan,” ranging from educating truck drivers to ticketing them, to resolve concerns over illegally parking big rigs on city streets. Elected officials and Haverhill police met last week at Amazon’s North Andover warehouse to resolve concerns over private truckers parking in Ward Hill neighborhoods after going to or from the company. State Rep. Ryan M. Hamilton told WHAV the meeting at Amazon was a “step in the right direction.”

“We believe that once we inform these drivers of what they’re doing and not to go there—we’ve been told drivers talk, so once they know they can’t go there and know if they do they will get a $50 ticket, they will no longer go there. So, the information part and the education part is what we’re hoping does the trick and, if it doesn’t, well then they’re going to have to pay that $50 fine every time and that will get costly.”

Haverhill City Councilor Catherine P. Rogers raised the issue recently, speaking in favor of raising fines to $50 per incident. “It could be overnight or a couple of days.