Community Corner
Senator Joan Lovely & Beverly Rep. Jerry Parisella Visit Northshore Education Consortium
State Senator Joan Lovely and Beverly Representative Jerry Parisella recently visited the Northshore Education Consortium on Sohier Road in Beverly. The Consortium, a publicly funded program, is the largest provider of services to nontraditional students in the North of Boston region. Led by Northshore Education Consortium Executive Director Fran Rosenberg, the lawmakers toured two Consortium schools to see the programs and say hello to students and staff.
First, they visited the Kevin O’Grady School in Beverly, which provides specialized services to students, ages 3 to 22, who have significant developmental delays, including pervasive developmental disorders, Autism, multiple handicaps, visual impairments and medical fragility. Senator Lovely and Rep. Parisella were impressed by all of the special equipment the school has, including walkers, wheelchairs, large tricycles, beds and lifts that are required by students with severe physical challenges.
Next, the lawmakers headed to the Northshore Academy upper school on Balch Street, where they met with Principal Ken Letzring. The Academy provides a therapeutic educational environment for students in grades 7 to 12 who have social, emotional and behavioral challenges.