Update on Lawrence schools

Since I assume you read page 22 (February 22^nd Edition) first, let’s stick with the Lawrence Public Schools.  On January 22, 2008, Jeffrey Nelhaus, Acting Commissioner of Education sent a letter to School Superintendent Wilfredo T. Laboy advising him that six schools will be joining the ranks of Commonwealth Priority Schools (CPS), similar to that of the Arlington School at present.  The letter says in part:

“written notice to the governing body of the school, the district superintendent, if any, the school's principal, and the collective bargaining agent for the school's faculty, if any, informing them that the school is so designated.”   This letter is your formal notice that the Emily Wetherbee, Gerard Guilmette Elementary, Gerard Guilmette Middle, John Tarbox Elementary, South Lawrence East Elementary, and South Lawrence East Middle Schools in Lawrence have been designated as CPSs. Once issued, this formal notification initiates the 30-day timeframe for the district to seek reconsideration or to provide an improvement plan and appear before a State Review Panel.

Superintendent Laboy and his fanatics in the school department keep talking about “the progress they have made.”  This superintendent has been in charge for seven years and our schools are in miserable conditions.  Oh, I shouldn’t have used that word; it might offend somebody at LPS, but the Department of Education proves otherwise.

If the state does not see sufficient improvement in those schools by June, they will become CPS like the Arlington School.