By Porfirio Matías
On Saturday, March 23, 2019, from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM, the Haverhill Latino Coalition had an important meeting with School Superintendent Margaret Marotta and other members of the school system as well as Mayor Jim Fiorentini and some members of the city council and the school committee.
This meeting took place at the Haverhill Public Library. There, members of the Coalition questioned the superintendent about the problems facing the Haverhill school system, among which is the lack of administrative personnel, teachers and other employees of Latino origin, taking into account that 39% of the students of the schools of the city are of Latin origin.
They also asked the school superintendent about the conditions of the schools, in particular the Consentino School and when it is estimated that it will be rebuilt. Another thing was about the high dropout rate, mainly in the Latino community. They also asked if they have a bilingual coordinator for student attendance and contact with parents, and if using the Letterland program for bilingual students has had a positive result.
The school superintendent promised that many of the community’s concerns will be taken into account for a prompt solution.
At the end of the meeting it was agreed to meet again in June of this year to review and follow-up the claims’ solutions of the Latino community of this city.
