Note: This story has been updated to reflect a revised school calendar provided to WHAV.
Haverhill students will be returning to their classrooms beginning in April.
The Haverhill School Committee last Thursday approved a plan submitted by Superintendent Margaret Marotta to phase-in full-time, back-to-classroom learning beginning Monday, April 5. Marotta said the schedule was based on the recommendation of state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley.
Specifically, Haverhill’s phase-in will have all kindergarten and grade one students in the classroom beginning April 5, while all cohort A students in grades 2-12 will attend in person on April 5 and 6. All students will attend remotely on April 7. On April 8 and 9, all students kindergarten through grade four will attend in person along with cohort B students grades 5-12.
By WHAV Staff |
March 8, 2021
Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley Feb. 26 at Nock-Molin Middle School in Newburyport. (Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald/Pool photograph.)
Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini. (WHAV News file photograph.)
Haverhill’s mayor said he did not have any advance notice of the state’s plans to return to in-person learning when he proposed last month a full school return in April.
An 8-3 vote by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Friday afternoon gave state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley extraordinary powers to end remote and hybrid learning. Riley said he wants to start by having elementary school students return to full in-person learning next month and all classes back by fall. Haverhill Education Association President Anthony J. Parolisi questions what Mayor James J. Fiorentini knew and when.
By John Lee Grant |
File photograph. (Image licensed by Ingram Image.)
Haverhill High School students not only welcome diversity, but introduced a framework last Thursday night for multicultural changes to learning materials.
The Haverhill School Committee heard from high school student leaders who presented ideas for creating greater diversity in the school’s curriculum
Haverhill High School Student Council Vice President Rebecca Hamel said students began working last summer on a plan to bring greater representation of minority groups, women and others who are often left out of traditional teaching programs.
“Not only do we want students to learn about other cultures, but we want them to be able to learn about themselves. We feel as though focusing on more cultures will bring so much benefit and so we want all scholars in this district to feel heard and seen and that starts with representation within the classroom,” she said.
The question of when students can safely return to the classroom continues to be a hot topic with no clear answers from the Haverhill School Committee. While Mayor James J. Fiorentini recently asked for plans to return students to the classroom next month, Committee members remain divided, in no small part because the state has […]
By WHAV Staff |
Haverhill School Committee member Paul A. Magliocchetti. (WHAV News file photograph.)
The chairman of the committee negotiating a new contract with education support professionals is disputing the union’s characterization of progress during current talks.
School Committee Member Paul A. Magliocchetti, who chairs the negotiating subcommittee which also includes member Toni Sapienza Donais, said Sunday that not only does the full School Committee value the support staff, it has offered a three-year compensation package. The proposal “will restructure positions, provides for a pay schedule that reflects the skills and responsibilities of the employee, meets the hourly living wage set by the HEA president and results in a 25% increase in the salary account for this group.”