jackiedoherty.org

Bob Martin, gritty poet and songwriter of Lowell’s past and present, will be celebrating the CD release of his first album, Midwest Farm Disaster, first recorded in 1972, tomorrow night, 8:00 pm, at the Brewery Exchange.  I’ve seen Bob perform many times, at the folk festival and in other venues around town and I can attest that he just keeps getting better. I own his last two albums (The River Turns the Wheel, and Next to Nothin’), but never got my hands on the first one, which will be available tomorrow night. To top it off, he’ll be joined by local singer and songwriter, Sandy Spence.  They put on a great show with many tributes to the city they both know and love so well. For information, see Bob’s website. 

Thank you to Superintendent Karla Brooks Baehr for her leadership in improving the quality of education in Lowell. Today’s Sun quotes Board of Education Chairman Paul Reville denouncing the “attack campaign” against Baehr by strident charter-school advocates and suggests board members were not influenced by the inaccurate, negative propaganda surrounding her candidacy for the Education Commissioner position. I choose to believe that’s true. Despite the best efforts of the harshest critics, the facts speak for themselves. When you look at a number of indicators, Lowell stands out as an educational leader of large urban school districts. Baehr was instrumental in that progress, but she didn’t do it alone. Yesterday, I received an email from a teacher, who wrote: “Thanks for sticking up for not only Karla, but Lowell Public School teachers, parents, and more importantly, our students.” It’s a point worth repeating: the smear campaign was not only against our superintendent, it was against our school system. The progress we have seen in the last seven years would not have happened without the efforts of our administrators, staff, teachers, students, and families. Perhaps that is Baehr’s greatest achievement in Lowell—through relentless focus and vision—she re-invented our expectations of urban public education. Of course I’d love to see her stay, but it’s unlikely. It’s also sadly amusing that some folks, such as WCAP radio talk-show host George Anthes, are calling for a Keep Karla campaign as reported on LiL. The cliché too little, too late comes to mind regarding Anthes, who was a persistent and harsh Baehr critic during his morning show…also, the song lyrics: “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.” Baehr is leaving Lowell, but what remains is an infrastructure for continued success through consistent standards-based curriculum, a template for high-quality instruction, and an expectation of excellence. For that, I thank Dr. Baehr, and I have no doubt continued successes are ahead for her.