Heather McGhee Event Link + the Latest in BEU Negotiations

Posted: 6/21/2023 9:07 am

Dear Brookline community members and school system supporters,

Thank you to all who were able to come see Heather McGhee on June 7! If you weren’t able to attend, here is the Brookline Interactive Group’s recording of that event. Feel free to pass this on to any and all who might be interested in learning more about Heather McGhee’s contention that when we invest in the public good through an equity lens, ALL of us benefit.

As you may or may not know, the Brookline Educators Union is actively bargaining with the School Committee for a contract for our paraprofessionals. The core issues are safety, equity, and – most urgently – a living wage. In Brookline we have the opportunity to invest in the kind of public good that will pay dividends for students - and by extension, the whole community - through a strong paraprofessional contract. I fervently hope that soon we can announce a strong contract that will support paraprofessionals’ ability to support the students of Brookline.

I also wanted to alert you to another crisis in our school system, which presents us another opportunity to invest in our shared public good. Many of our K-8 World Language teachers have long faced untenable schedules and workloads, leading to teacher burnout, high turnover, and inconsistent learning experiences for students. Teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions, and we know that when educators are undervalued and under-resourced, it diminishes the quality of education students receive. K-8 World Language educators have been demanding for over a year to bargain their working conditions - as is the right and custom in our contractually-negotiated workforce - and have been met with refusal on the part of the Superintendent and the School Committee.

Now the teachers are being told that there is still a budget shortfall and so their workloads will increase even further. These jobs, already untenable, are becoming impossible, and teachers are voting with their feet - we’ve lost over one-third of our elementary World Language teachers in the past year, and many more are considering other jobs!

Our K-8 World Language teachers are our most diverse educator cohort in terms of national origin, ethnicity and race (along with paraprofessionals). If we want to hire and retain a diverse and qualified staff, and if we want robust, consistent, excellent instruction for our children, we cannot treat teachers this way. When we fail to fully invest in the voter-supported vision of a robust elementary World Language program in Brookline, ultimately it is our students who suffer.

Our K-8 World Language teachers care so deeply about their work with students that they are standing up - by sitting down. They will be at Town Hall on Thursday morning 9-3, to demand that the Superintendent meet with them and address their concerns. Please join them and spread the word to support our K-8 World Language program!

How can you find out more and/or help:

1. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me!
2. Email the Superintendent and urge him to meet with the K-8 World Language teachers to bargain sustainable and equitable learning conditions so our children receive the robust World Language program our community voted for. (linus_guillory@psbma.org)
3. Email the School Committee to urge them to settle a fair contract for paraprofessionals asap. (school_committee@psbma.org)
4. Email our Select Board to urge them to locate the funds to fully invest in our schools without damaging cuts. (SelectBoard@brooklinema.gov)
5. Share this with five people you know in Brookline!

Thank you so much for your ongoing support for the students and schools of Brookline,
Alisa Conner
BHS teacher since 2001, parent of rising BHS sophomore, BHS class of 1990, Brookline homeowner/taxpayer/voter

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