LAWRENCE — The Leahy School is not just a new building but the future for the scores of students it will shepherd.
Patricia Mariano called the Leahy “a home, a family and a place where futures are shaped,” during a ribbon cutting at the new school after a $114 million building and renovation project.
The new media center at the school was dedicated to Mariano, a native Lawrencian and 40-year educator who retired as Leahy School principal. Mariano also serves as School Committee member and current chair of the Lawrence Alliance for Education.
Mariano, a grandmother, led the effort to get the new Leahy building approved, funded and built with the school’s historical features preserved.
She is the daughter of the late Joe Giuffriuda, a proud city native, Italian American and Lawrence City Hall legend. The city’s chief assessor for 36 years, he died in November 2013 and is remembered for his legacy of honesty, fairness and tremendous work ethic.
The dedication of Leahy’s new Patricia M. Mariano Media Center was a highlight in the ribbon-cutting ceremony this week.
“A heartfelt thank you to Patricia Mariano for her many years of dedicated service to our students and community,” Mayor Brian DePena said. “Together, we’re investing in a brighter future for Lawrence.”
Mariano said when she looks back on her years at Leahy “my greatest joy came from watching students grow — not only academically, but as kind, thoughtful, and confident individuals. I always believed in giving students the tools and the encouragement to write their own stories, and now this media center will be a space where those stories begin.”
“To have my name connected to a place that will spark curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning —it is one of the greatest honors of my life,” she said.
On Erving Avenue at the site of the previous 1921 structure, the new Leahy will consolidate students from three existing locations into a single building serving 1,000 K-8 students in two LPS schools – Leahy Elementary School and Leahy Middle School.
While it’s an entirely new construction with fully accessible, green design – including a rooftop outdoor playground and inclusive arts and physical education spaces – it also preserves and incorporates numerous historic architectural components of the original building. It’s named for World War I hero and Lawrence native, Capt. Francis M. Leahy.
“Leahy students will learn and grow in the most modern American school space that could be imagined surrounded by reminders of the history that brought us here, and what it takes to achieve great things,” Lawrence Public Schools Superintendent Ralph Carrero said.
The city of Lawrence partnered with the Massachusetts School Building Authority for partial reimbursement of the Leahy’s project cost.
“Schools create opportunity,” said Deborah Goldberg, Massachusetts State Treasurer and Chair of the MSBA.
“For Lawrence to be able to bring the community together, to work with the MSBA, and to be able to do this for the kids – that’s what this is about,” she said.
The ribbon cutting was marks “a proud moment for Lawrence and highlights what we can achieve through collaboration and shared vision,” DePena said.
State Sen. Pavel Payano, State Rep. and Second Asst. Majority Leader Frank Moran (both D-Lawrence), and City Council President Jeovanny Rodriguez also spoke, citing the collaboration required to secure the funding that made the Leahy possible.
“Our kids deserve not an adequate education, but an excellent education and part of that is the walls that surround them,” Payano said.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter/X @EagleTribJill and on Threads at jillyharma.