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Jackie and I just spent a couple of hours down at Lowell Telecommunications at an orientation session where we learned about the benefits of membership and the classes they offer.  It was interesting and informative. The staff are eager to talk about what LTC has to offer and to help guide new members in taking advantage of their services.  If you want to find out more, you can attend another (free) session tonight, at their office at 246 Market Street, beginning at 6:00 pm.  You don’t have to be a member to attend the session. If you do decide to join, you can attend the Annual Meeting (next Wednesday, January 16, 6 pm at the Wannalancit Mills first floor Conference Room). It’s a potluck dinner and awards ceremony and a good way to meet the other members, staff and board of directors.

One thing we learned today is that LTC offers streaming video of all the government meetings (City Council, Sub committees, School Committee, etc.) on their website.  So, if you can’t attend or catch a meeting on TV, you can watch it on your computer at your convenience.

Once again, the Lowell Sun has twisted facts, ignored reality, and taken a shot at the schools—all under the pretext of an editorial about establishing “a first-rate screening committee.” Response to the search process for a new superintendent will be in a later post. For now, my focus is the cynical, unfairly negative view this paper presents about our schools. The article claims Lowell’s per pupil expenditure is $3,666 above the state average—a discrepancy I couldn’t verify on the Mass. DOE website. From my research, the state average was only $400 less than Lowell, and when compared to other urban districts (see table below), the city’s spending is similar. Also annoying was the editor’s harshly negative conclusion about the results of all this spending. The editorial fails to mention facts that demonstrate progress in the schools, such as 29% more Lowell students scored advanced or proficient on MCAS in 2007 than in 2005, while 18% more moved up from failing. Or that Lowell was one of only three urban districts statewide to have 50% or more of its high school students score proficient or advanced on MCAS. Many of our students are poor, learn English as a second language, and score lower on tests than kids in Weston, for example, where they spend about $3,000 more per student. Yet, the Sun ignores this reality, uses facts selectively, and refuses to compare fairly. Obviously there is need for continued improvement, but why is the school glass always empty for the only paper in town? 

Urban School Districts Per Pupil Expenditure (2006)