Aprell May Munford

4 days ago | masslive.com | Aprell May Munford

HOLYOKE — The graduation rate among Holyoke students was 77.1% for the 2023-24 school year, according to recenly released state data, a rate 15 percentage points higher than before the district was placed into recievership. “Over the past four years, we have invested significantly in instructional leadership, standards-aligned curriculum, high-quality teaching practices, and social emotional support for our students,” Anthony Soto, the district’s superintendent and receiver, said in a statement.

6 days ago | masslive.com | Aprell May Munford

Probablemente hayas oído hablar de la atención plena. Pero ¿qué hay de la rabia consciente? Esto es un nuevo programa en Holyoke que transforma la angustia y la ira de los jóvenes en una fuerza creativa para la introspección, el cambio y la justicia, todo por el bien de la comunidad. Pa’lante Transformative Justice, con la misión de ayudar a los jóvenes a convertirse en líderes, no quiere que los adolescentes de hoy se sientan aislados y llenos de ira.

1 week ago | masslive.com | Aprell May Munford

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield man will spend nearly two decades in prison for shooting a Holyoke cook who added bacon to his sandwich. John Brown Jr., 37, was convicted April 29 by a Hampden County jury of shooting Benito Agron, 39, a cook at the Unicorn Pub on High Street in Holyoke. On Dec. 17, 2022, after a family party in a private room reserved by Brown’s sister, security video shows Brown sitting at the bar and talking with Agron, while other patrons and staff lingered in the pub.

1 week ago | masslive.com | Aprell May Munford

SPRINGFIELD — Martin Espada’s new poetry collection, “The Jailbreak of Sparrows,” captures people, politics, and scenes and moments from Puerto Rico. Espada, a University of Massachusetts professor and acclaimed poet, draws inspiration from his father, Frank Espada, a civil rights leader and documentary photographer. “My father’s photographs hung on the walls of our apartment in Brooklyn, and therefore the walls of my imagination from the beginning,” Espada said.

1 week ago | masslive.com | Aprell May Munford

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Teachers Association has a rally planned before its fifth bargaining session with school officials Thursday, as disagreements percolate over state oversight controls and local decision making. The rally will start at 3:30 p.m. at Holyoke High School.