Tag Archives: School Committee

09.16.13
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Bringing in the Grant Pros.


Lowell Sun

LOWELL — A privately funded grant writer will work on behalf of the Lowell School Department this year, and advocates for creating the position said it will create new opportunities for the city’s students.

Director of Grants and Partnership Development Susan Linn will be introduced to the School Committee at Wednesday’s meeting.

“I think of Lowell as a community that’s on its way over a cliff,”
Linn said. “There’s not that much that’s going to be required to go over that cliff to a place that’s really fantastic.”

Did our newly hired, grant writing wordsmith just turn“a community that’s on its way over a cliff” into a positive statement? Yup! Did we just become best friends? Yup! Talk about letting everyone know why you’re making the big bucks.

08.14.13
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New Highschools are for a bunch of runner-ups! (UPDATE)

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Run with Gendron Blog

Lowell High School offers the citizens of Lowell some of the best teachers and largest variety of educational opportunities in the state. There are a lot of success stories and positive attributes about this school, and I love to talk about them. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the facility itself is not one of them. The Lowell High school facility is deficient and needs to be replaced. When I see the facilities that have been built in towns like Tewksbury and Lawrence, I ask myself, “Why can’t we do this in Lowell?”

As a parent of four sons who have attended Lowell High School, some of the deficiencies are obvious. Threadbare carpets and walls in need of paint are items that should be easy to address. However, my eyes were opened further when I read the Lowell High School Facilities Assessment Report that was distributed in 2007 by the City of Lowell Department of Planning and Development in conjunction with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. This report highlights many of the more serious deficiencies that may not be obvious to the casual observer, or a parent who does not have the need to be in the school when it is in session.

How about the nerve of this Gendron guy…waltzing onto the School Committee scene and wildly suggesting that Lowell High School is falling apart, and that perhaps it’s time for a new one. Well yeah, Steve, no kidding. That’s the whole point. In the business of winning, we call that home field advantage. When Chelmsford kids show up at the field house and are terrified of rogue roof trusses falling on their heads, that’s a win for the Red Raiders. That East German feel of the “new” building helps weed out all the softies and boosts the tuition coffers down at Central…and that’s exactly the way we want it!

Sure, crackpot scientists and yuppies from Andover might suggest that natural lighting is essential, but half our student pop has year-round tans anyway. Classroom technology? Smart boards? What a bunch new aged hooey. The Classroom technology discussion should begin and end with a BowFlex in every classroom. Crumbling infrastructure? That’s just more “apparatus” for Soviet style dry-land training. That’s the Red Raider way!

Everyone knows that property values in Lowell are tied directly to our wins and losses in the MVC. Certainly the current school committee anyway. So if we really need to build something to spice up this election season, how about a bigger trophy case?

Update: In response to some of the feedback regarding this blog, if you read this and concluded that we think building a new High School is actually a BAD idea, you may want to see a doctor about getting your extra chromosome removed. I think it’s a great idea and I am pumped that there’s someone out there championing better standards for Lowell Schools. Get a feel for the blog before jumping down our throats. Gracias.