March 27, 2013
Dear Members of the New Bedford School Committee:
I apologize for not being able to be able to deliver this
testimony in person; however, I was already scheduled for a flight to another
meeting and could not get out of it.
I have asked Tim Sullivan to deliver this testimony in my
stead.
As you all probably know, I have been very supportive of
Innovation Schools and believe that they represent an important development in
creating teacher- and community-led schools.
I am attaching a copy of my MTA Today editorial from September. In the past two years we have seen 44
Innovation Schools established around the Commonwealth and more schools are
currently under consideration.
It has come to my attention that my comments and editorials
in support of Innovation Schools have been used as a criticism of the New
Bedford Education Association and its leaders for not supporting the proposals.
Unfortunately, based on the information I have been provided, the two new
Innovation Schools proposed in New Bedford do not appear to be supported by the
vast majority of teachers who will be directly impacted. As a result, I felt
compelled to have this testimony read at your meeting.
I would like to make it perfectly clear that I am supportive
of Innovation Schools where all educators and their union are involved in the
development and planning process and the plans have the support of the
educators in the impacted buildings. In
fact, in most cases the Innovation Schools that have been created were
conversion schools where the current staff at the schools were involved in the
process and ultimately had a vote regarding the final decision on whether to proceed
with the innovation plan. Some have
been new schools as opposed to conversion schools, but even in those cases the
current staff and union were involved and engaged in the process of developing
the schools.
I am well aware that this is a local decision and I am an
outsider; however, I ask that you not support these two proposals at this time
and bring all the parties together for further discussions with the affected
teachers, parents and community leaders about developing school redesign
proposals which will improve student outcomes in a way that is fair and
inclusive and avoids the current divisiveness.
I applaud the educators and community members involved in developing
these proposals for their deep concern and interest in proposing a new vision and
plan for these two schools; however, they can only be successful if they are
supported by the staff involved in their implementation. In addition, with the news of a new charter
school opening in the fall, the recent discovery of a significant budget shortfall
and the hiring of a new superintendent, this seems like the perfect moment to
hit the pause button and rethink how the Gomes and Roosevelt schools, and
indeed the entire district, move forward on behalf of all of the students and
teachers.
I will pledge that MTA will work with the NBEA and NBPS and
the community to develop and support plans for creating and implementing
serious plans for improving both schools and the district. We currently have the Massachusetts
Education Partnership, which is composed of the MTA, AFT-MA, MASS, MASC and
other partners who want to support strong labor-management partnerships to
improve student outcomes. If NBEA and
NBPS are willing to work with us we can help support this challenging work.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
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