A Crisis of Confidence
By: Frank McLaughlin

The Lawrence public schools are in crisis. Violence, vandalism and gang activity are all on the rise, while the number of police patrolling the hallways is down. The city’s public schools are the most underperforming in the state and the drop-out rate is among the highest. A recent fire department inspection of the aging Lawrence High School revealed that all 22 fire extinguishers were empty – an apt metaphor for the administration of the city public schools.

Despite these acute public safety issues, the greatest problem facing the Lawrence public schools is lost confidence in the ability of Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy to act in the best interest of our children. Teachers in the Lawrence public schools believe he is not. A motion of no-confidence received 98% of the vote at the union’s meeting last month. Why?

Professional educators, child psychologists and parents will all attest to the importance of consistency in a child’s psychological development. Regrettably, Lawrence students are learning in the earliest grades that the school discipline code is too-often ignored. Students at all grade levels are rarely held accountable for their bad behavior. Teachers have lost confidence in an administration that is unwilling to support efforts to manage the classroom.

Abandonment of the discipline code is just one of the issues facing Lawrence schools. Regrettably, the prospect of a brand new high school building has allowed administrators to turn a blind eye to the grave public safety concerns existing in our schools today.

Even the casual reader of this newspaper knows that students and teachers work in constant threat of physical assault. The administration seems to believe that these problems will magically disappear when students and teachers move into the new high school in the fall. The reality that the city’s professional educators see on a daily basis paints a very different picture and explains why Lawrence teachers have lost confidence in Superintendent Laboy.


A climate of administrative disregard permeates the halls of Lawrence public schools. When students are not reprimanded for their misconduct, they learn that both respect and discipline are laughable matters. When students are given second and third chances at passing a previously failed course, each chance entailing easier passing requirements, they learn that education is not to be taken seriously. When the Superintendent shows that educators are not to be respected by refusing to meet face to face with teachers, students learn that they too don’t have to take their teachers seriously.

Lawrence teachers know about the ins and outs of educating our youth within the Lawrence Public School system. We know that a partnership between teachers and administrators has worked in Boston, Cambridge and Lynn. We know that a cooperative and collaborative relationship with the administration will bring us one step closer to building lasting solutions for our students.

We also know that the problems that Lawrence public schools face will not disappear with a fresh coat of paint. As we have repeatedly shown, we are ready to sit down with Superintendent Laboy and talk through the issues in an effort to work together on educational leadership. We’re just waiting for him to show up.

Frank McLaughlin is the President of the Lawrence Teachers’ Union.