Education

Haverhill High Marine Corps Jr. ROTC Plans 9/11 Remembrance and POW/MIA Ceremonies

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The Haverhill High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC is hosting its annual 9/11 remembrance Ceremony 23 years to the hour of the 2001 attacks. Retired U.S. Marine Corps First Sgt. David W. Grinstead, senior marine instructor, said all teachers and students are welcome to attend Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 8:46 to 9:10 a.m., at the 9/11 monument in front of Haverhill High School, 137 Monument St. The Junior ROTC will also have its Prisoner of War/Missing in Action ceremony Friday, Sept.

Education

Northern Essex Community College Mourns Loss of Second President John R. Dimitry

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(Additional photograph below.)

Northern Essex Community College is remembering its second president, Dr. John R. Dimitry, as leading with “compassion, tenacity and a dedication to equity, which remain embedded in the fibers of NECC to this day.”

Dimitry, who served the college from 1975 to 1996, died this week at age 95. “Dr. Dimitry’s leadership at Northern Essex Community College forged pathways of opportunity and equity, ensuring that education could serve as a beacon of hope and change for countless individuals,” says current college President Lane A. Glenn. “We are deeply grateful for Dr. Dimitry’s numerous contributions to Northern Essex and we share our sincerest condolences with his loved ones”

When Dimitry was 17, he left high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army, earned his GED certificate and, upon his discharge in 1948, earned a bachelor’s degree. He subsequently served in the Korean War from 1952 to 1954 when he was called to active duty. After the war, he earned his master’s and doctoral degrees and began his lifetime career in education.

Back-To-School Countdown

Haverhill Schools Hash Out Transportation Concerns Ahead of Classes Resuming

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The Haverhill School Committee and administrators last Thursday discussed steps to avert bus driver shortages and communications issues in advance of children returning to classes Tuesday. At the request of Vice Chair Paul A. Magliocchetti, representatives of NRT Bus said they believe they have enough drivers and staff for the start of the school year. Haverhill office Operations Manager Michelle Perez said the company is contracted to provide 35 of the big school buses and has a driver for each, 15 special needs minibuses with 11 regular drivers and temporary replacements from its van fleet for the remainder and eight more completing training for commercial driver’s licenses. “We’ve got the routes, the drivers are doing dry runs, going through all of their checks and that’s pretty much where we’re at right now,” she said. School Committee member Thomas Grannemann however, questioned whether NRT has adequate staffing to fill in for any absent drivers.

Education

Haverhill Public Schools Outline ‘Key Initiatives’ as Schools Reopen Monday

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Haverhill schools are launching, what Superintendent Margaret Marotta calls, “key initiatives” for the new school year that starts Monday for staff. These include the kindergarten through fifth grade rollout of “Wit and Wisdom” English language arts curriculum, the second year of Eureka Squared math, expansion of special education with substantially separate classrooms and an increase the number of multilingual learner teachers. “Together, we will work to reduce chronic absenteeism, enhance family and community engagement, and ensure that every student feels a true sense of belonging in our schools,” Marotta said in an email welcoming school staff back for the new year. The superintendent said the key initiatives are “all aimed at ensuring the well-being and success of our students.”

Education

Urban College of Boston Names Haverhill Woman as CFO

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A Haverhill woman was recently named chief financial officer at Urban College of Boston, a private, nonprofit two-year college. Erline Tanice, a community college graduate herself, previously served as the finance director at Commonwealth Corporation and bring both financial leadership expertise and a commitment to the community. “We are thrilled to welcome another high-caliber executive to the team. Erline’s record of impact and transformation in the finance realm speaks for itself. She joins a talented team that is equally committed to our mission,” said Yves Salomon-Fernandez, president of Urban College of Boston.

Education

Haverhill High School Names Sean Bryan as Boys’ Varsity Basketball Head Coach

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Sean Bryan has been named boys’ varsity basketball head coach at Haverhill High School. Haverhill High School Athletic Director Thomas E. O’Brien said Thursday Bryan comes from University of Maryland Baltimore County where he was a graduate assistant coach at last year. He assisted in all aspects of the Division 1 program, which competes in the America East Conference. In 2022-23, he served as the assistant coach at his alma mater, Salem State University. Bryan has also served as head coach for Massachusetts Rivals 15U as well as the 17U Select squad.

Education

Opinion: What Higher Ed Leaders Could Learn from Project 2025

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by Lane Glenn, CommonWealth Beacon
August 18, 2024
HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS across America have been white-knuckle doom-scrolling on their cell phones in recent weeks, aghast at headlines warning about what a conservative takeover of the White House and Congress in November might mean for the nation’s colleges and universities. They are right to be anxious. After all, in a speech he delivered to the National Conservatism Conference in 2021 called “The Universities are the Enemy,” Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance, complained, “We have got to get out of the mindset that the only way to live a good life in this country, the only way for our children to succeed is to go to a four-year university where people will learn to hate their country and acquire a lot of debt in the process.”

Instead, he challenged, “If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities.”

As unhinged and beyond-the-fringe as that may sound to campus leaders, Vance is far from alone in his opinion. Between the rising cost of college and soaring student loan debts, skepticism about the value of a degree, rampant “wokeness,” free speech suppression, and campus protests over the war in Gaza, the reputation of America’s colleges and universities has fallen off a cliff. A recent survey from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation reveals that nearly a third of Americans have “very little or no confidence in higher education,” an increase of more than 20 percent since the poll was first taken in 2015.

Back-To-School Countdown

UTEC Plans ‘Back-to-School Backpack Bash’ Aug. 22

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Haverhill’s UTEC is helping children get ready for school with a “Back-to-School Backpack Bash” today. Parents are asked to bring their children to the event Thursday, Aug. 22, from 4-7 p.m., at 241 Winter St., Haverhill. School supplies will be given away and there will be raffles, food and beverages, a live disc jockey and entertainment and information about resources, after-school programs and sports sign-ups. Those wishing to learn more may call Indra at 978-457-1414.