Throughout the month of February, the Patrick-Murray Administration will host a series of events and discussions across the Commonwealth to celebrate Black History Month. Please join Governor Patrick on February 11th to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
The holiday season continues on Monday, December 10th with the Annual State House Menorah Lighting in Nurses’ Hall. Governor Patrick will join Senate President Murray, Speaker DeLeo and Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren, along with the other Constitutional Officers and members of the Legislature, in celebrating Hanukkah.
Each year this event is hosted by Rabbi Rachmiel Liberman of the Congregation Lubavitch Synagogue and features songs and activities to celebrate the holiday. The Menorah remains in Nurses’ Hall throughout the eight days of Hanukkah.
Governor Patrick invites the public to join him at the State House on Monday at 4:00pm for all of the activities.
The State House holiday season picks up full steam with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting event on Wednesday, December 5th. Children from area schools will gather in Nurses’ Hall for an evening of making reindeer crafts and decorating ornaments. All attendees have the opportunity to partake in cookies, hot chocolate and other refreshments.
The Madrigal Singers from Lexington High School and musicians from the Berklee School of Music will provide musical accompaniment to the festivities.
The Governor will read the holiday classic The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore to the children before they proceed outside to light the tree.
The tree, a 35-foot Balsam Fir, was planted on November 19, 2011 in honor of the late Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill. It was purchased and transplanted from a tree farm in Hatfield. The tree farm is a member of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Growers Association.
Governor Patrick looks forward to hosting the children and their families and having them join him as he lights the now permanent State House Christmas Tree.
Governor Patrick invites the public to join him at the State House on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. for all the holiday activities.
President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick listen as Orchard Gardens Elementary School students recite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I Have a Dream" speech in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
On February 28th, Governor Deval Patrick brought a first grade class from Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury to meet President Barack Obama at the White House.
The students recited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for the President in the Diplomatic Reception Room in celebration of Black History Month.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids,” said Governor Patrick. “I am so proud of the educators and students at Orchard Gardens for the progress they have made academically.”
The school opened in a brand new facility in 2003 bringing promise to a troubled, though deeply engaged neighborhood. Despite its state-of-the-art facility, its committed and well-intentioned stakeholders, and supportive community, the school had languished with poor test scores. In 2010, the school was designated as one of Boston’s turnaround schools and is now empowered to take full advantage of the flexibilities allowed by the Patrick-Murray Administration’s Achievement Gap Act and federal turnaround grant funding. The school has already demonstrated incredible progress.
As a turnaround school, Orchard Gardens’ new school leader, Andrew Bott has been able to overhaul staff and hire only those who are deeply committed to mission of school, extend school hours, infuse professional development, use data as a driving force and make appropriate programmatic changes to fit needs of students.
In addition to a rigorous curriculum, students have music, art, drama, dance, gym, and sports. Middle school students now stay at the school until 5:15 p.m. to take advantage of extra learning time.
Early signs indicate that students are already faring better academically and emotionally, and the school has seen parental involvement dramatically increase. While MCAS scores at Orchard Gardens are still low, they were much higher 2011 than in 2010. In English, the portion of students in grades 3-8 scoring proficient or advanced this past spring increased 10 percentage points to 30 percent. In math, the scores in those categories jumped 16 percentage points to 35 percent.
This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
On January 23, 2012, Governor Deval Patrick delivered his fourth State of the Commonwealth address. In his address he promoted an ambitious agenda on getting people back to work, lowering health care costs and strengthening public safety. In each of these areas, the Governor again asked the Legislature and the people to make hard choices.
Governor Patrick also discussed a set of reforms to help Massachusetts community colleges meet regional workforce demands by providing workers with the skills they need to help fill the estimated 120,000 current job openings in the state. Learn more about the Governor's proposal for the fifteen individual community college campuses to come together as a unified, state-wide system offering a more streamlined curriculum as well as locally developed, regionally specific jobs and skills training.
Prior to the Governor’s address, Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray recognized Jon Davies Jr., son of the late Firefighter Jon Davies Sr. of Worcester, who died last December trying to rescue a missing tenant from a residential blaze. Davies was seated with First Lady Diane Patrick in her gallery area. A moment of silence was offered for Firefighter Davies and Firefighter James Rice of Peabody, who also lost his life in the line of duty last December. Worcester Deputy Fire Chief Geoffrey Gardell and Peabody Fire Chief Steven Pasdon joined the Lieutenant Governor at the rostrum for the moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Emma Henderson, a 12-year-old student from John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton sang “The Star Spangled Banner”. The invocation was conducted by Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner of Just Congregations and the benediction by Rev. Dr. John M. Borders, III, of the Morning Star Baptist Church in Boston.
The holiday season continues tomorrow in Nurses’ Hall with the Annual State House Menorah Lighting. Governor Patrick will join Senate President Murray and Speaker DeLeo, along with the other Constitutional Officers, in celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.
Each year this event is hosted by Rabbi Rachmiel Liberman of the Congregation Lubavitch Synagogue and features songs and activities to celebrate the holiday.
Governor Patrick invites the public to join him at the State House at 4pm for the annual lighting.
Squeals of delight will once again echo through Nurses’ Hall to the front lawn of the State House during the Annual Tree Lighting event on Monday, December 12, as nearly 150 children (and many adults) will gather for holiday festivities with Governor Patrick.
Hot chocolate, cookie making stations and an amazing craft-making station will be waiting for the youth that participate at several afterschool programs.
Governor Patrick looks forward to hosting the children and their families and having them join him as he lights the now permanent State House Tree. It is a challenge to know who has more fun, the kids or the Governor’s staff who volunteers to pull it all together, creating fantastic memories for the children who are so deserving of a wonderful winter wonderland…at the State House!
Governor Patrick invites the public to join him at the State House on Monday at 5:00 p.m. for all the holiday activities.
Next Tuesday, the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy and Attorney General's Office will be holding a three-day series of public hearings about health care cost trends. During the hearings providers, payers, policy-makers, employers, consumers, and the public will talk about the factors contributing to the unsustainable growth in the state's health care spending and strategies to mitigate health care cost growth.
Posted by: Cynthia Orellana, Commonwealth Corps
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to join Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, advocates from the IRS,
The ceremony also
included a series of speakers, who all reinforced the positive impact
the EITC has for so many working families in
Lt. Governor Murray and EITC Business and Community Partners with Governor's Proclamation
There are over 300 free tax preparation sites, known as VITA sites, throughout the Commonwealth, which are supported by the assistance of hundreds of volunteers. Some of the sites also provide financial literacy such as budgeting, credit advising, and asset development. Depending on family size and income, households may be eligible for up to $6,506 in combined federal and state credits. Last year, approximately 340,000
In these challenging economic times, an EITC refund is just what many families and individuals need to meet some of their most basic needs – to pay rent, bills and food, put down their first down payment on a home, or help fund their education. As one EITC volunteer said, through the EITC we can make a difference “one family at a time.” If you are interested in volunteering, please visit www.masscap.org or www.bostontaxhelp.org. If you are interested in locating a VITA site near you, please go to www.masscashback.org. For more information about the Massachusetts EITC, please visit: http://www.mass.gov/anf/masseitc.
