LEAP News

The Salem News ran an edited version of this article. Here is the full length version. Vocational Education isn’t what it used to be.  If you graduated high school prior to 1990, your perceptions of, and experience with, vocational education is undoubtedly out of date.  It is no longer just an  alternative pathway for kids who are not on a college track nor is it an academic track that prepares students for entry levels jobs that only require a high school education or where academic expectations

This was a speech given by Linda Saris, Director of Salem CyberSpace at its Great Expectations Fundraiser June 5, 2012 In a book entitled Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard Chip Heath a professor from Stanford and his brother Dan Heath, a researcher and consultant at Duke, ask why it is so hard to making lasting change in our companies, our communities and our lives.  I was fortunate to hear Dr. Heath speak at Stanford and one of his stories really hit home

Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona launched the Engage Every Student Initiative, a bold new call to action to utilize American Rescue Plan funds alongside other state and local funds to ensure that every child who wants a spot in a high-quality out-of-school time (OST) program has one.

On Monday morning, Mayor Jared Nicholson, Ward Councilors Wayne Lozzi and Coco Alinsug, Interim Superintendent Deb Ruggiero, and School Committee members Brian Castellanos and Lorraine Gately toured the school to see how LEAP (learn, explore, aspire, pursue) for Education’s Dream MORE program was enriching students’ lives.

Our Great Expectations 2024 event was one for the history books with a record crowd and number of sponsors. We raised a total of $252,000 for our programs. This year’s theme was The Power of Partnerships – celebrating the relationships we’ve formed with organizations that enrich the lives of our students and our communities at large. This video highlights just a few of the school, business and community partners that we have had the opportunity to work with this past year. To learn more about our

Thank you to Arthur Posey for posting this blog Arthur Posey is a retired high school guidance counselor and freelance blogger specializing in issues that relate to education (including education reform, TEFL and the importance of vocational schools. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him rafting his favorite rivers or fixing up his motorcycle. My uncle Dan was top of his class in high school, with excellent grades and promising SAT scores. Most of the colleges he applied to offered him full-ride scholarships. He went

We have all been following the story of Eric Balderas, the Harvard student, who came to this country illegally as a 4-year old with his mother. As valedictorian of his Texan high school, he is now studying biology on a full scholarship to Harvard.  He was detained in Texas after visiting his mother and faces deportation. It gets you thinking. On May 11, Salem CyberSpace feted its own high school seniors who all graduated high school in 4 years and are all going on to college

I recently heard someone say, “The choices we make, make us”. Ironically I had just finished two books, Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir entitled My Beloved World and Wes Moore’s book, titled The Other Wes Moore, One Name, Two Lives. In each book Justice Sotomayor and author and activist Wes Moore talk about the choices they made, both growing up amidst poverty. I have often spoken about the important role LEAP plays in providing social capital to our students. And as I pondered this statement about choices, I

By Max Harris-D’Amato The blue glow of computer screens delivering LEAP for Education into students’ living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, describes the typical interactions that many AmeriCorps members are having in the midst of the pandemic. For some of its programs, LEAP also runs in person classes where Corps members Evan and Maiya are seen beaming despite their masks, their enthusiasm revealed through their eyes and voices. Their improvisation and initiative reminds students that LEAP is a safe haven. Born and raised in Salem, Evan Aroko,

If I were to ask you whether English Language Learners (also called LEP for Limited English Proficiency) did better in English or math on the MCAS test, what would your answer be?  Most likely you would guess math.  After all, you might argue, the language of math is universal.  Solving 5 x 5 doesn’t require any English, correct?  Well you would be wrong.  In Salem, MA 19% of the Hispanic students Failed the math MCAS vs 9% who failed English. For LEP students, 43% of students