We have long believed that employees, in both business and government, feel disconnected from their bosses because management doesn’t understand the challenges workers are experiencing. Lynnfield Public Schools is no exception to the rule.
That disconnect has taken center stage over the last few weeks in the wake of the Lynnfield Teachers Association (LTA) expressing concerns about the state of the school system entering the public domain.
LTA President Alexandria Cellucci stated in a letter sent to Superintendent Kristen Vogel and the School Committee in late October that the School Department’s budget cuts have placed more demands on teachers, which has resulted in educators juggling multiple responsibilities. She also expressed concerns about rising class sizes, increased teacher workloads and staff retention challenges. She also recommended that the district develop a plan with the LTA’s input that seeks to “attract and retain skilled educators” to ensure that Lynnfield Public Schools continue to “provide all students with a well-rounded, high-quality education.”
Similar to what School Committee member Kate DePrizio stated in a Facebook post and what several residents said during the board’s Nov. 21 meeting, the Villager has known about the educator and staff morale issue for the past year and a half.
A wide variety of school educators and other staff have shared their concerns and experiences about dealing with budget cuts, mismanaged curriculum implementation, increased class sizes, staff retention issues, student behavior challenges and more. They also shared that there is a morale problem issue among educators and staff, and many people feel that the district’s operational leaders don’t support them. The morale problem has gotten worse this academic year.
We have never seen things this bad.
While some town and school leaders might believe the LTA letter is simply union posturing, that is not the case. It’s a cry for help, and school officials have to start addressing this problem now.
It’s important to note that the Villager previously did not publish an article about the educators’ concerns because these were off-the-record conversations. When asked if they were willing to go on-the-record, the educators declined the invitation because they feared losing their jobs or experiencing “retaliation.” The Villager respected the educators’ wishes because we know that everyone needs to put food on the table and have a roof over their head.
That all changed when the newspaper received a copy of Cellucci’s letter, which is public record, earlier this month.
The underlying theme of Cellucci’s letter was working conditions. She told the Villager that the LTA wants to work with Vogel and the School Committee on “having our educators feel supported and respected.”
“Creating a positive workplace culture has a lot of components to it, and that is what we are looking to work on and address with the School Committee and the superintendent,” said Cellucci.
In essence, that means educators and staff don’t feel supported and respected, and school culture is not positive right now. The district’s employees deserve better.
It’s also important to note that, as of now, six school administrators have left the district in the last two years and a seventh will be joining them at the end of June.
One way to improve school culture and boost morale is putting resources into classrooms and buildings. In our view, the School Committee should have put the $55,000 given in raises toward hiring a fourth kindergarten teacher for Summer Street School. Reallocating these funds would have given the kindergarten team more flexibility if more students moved in midyear, and would have kept class sizes manageable.
Vogel and the School Committee had an opportunity to begin addressing the LTA’s concerns in late October after receiving Cellucci’s letter, but that did not happen. A member of the LTA who wished to remain anonymous informed the Villager that Vogel did not reach out to the teacher’s union until after local news organizations received a copy of the letter.
Last week’s meeting was originally supposed to take place on Nov. 14, but the school board rescheduled it to Nov. 21 due to the Lynnfield High varsity soccer teams playing in the Division 4 state semifinals in Leominster. We would have preferred it took place on either Wednesday, Nov. 15 or Thursday, Nov. 16 instead of two days before Thanksgiving.
School officials did not discuss the meeting change with town officials before switching the date. As a result, the School Committee was forced to have a truncated meeting that began at 5 p.m. because the Conservation Commission previously scheduled a meeting for 6:30 p.m.
The School Committee’s Nov. 21 meeting was the annual fall data presentation, which is a lengthy discussion that covers standardized test scores across the district. In our view, the School Committee should have rescheduled the data presentation and just listened to the concerned residents in attendance for the meeting’s duration.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. School Committee Chair Rich Sjoberg only allowed six people to speak and the committee immediately proceeded to the data presentation after public participation concluded in 15 minutes. A longer discussion about school staff concerns will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
School officials’ decision to proceed with the agenda as previously planned was completely tone deaf and showed nothing but hubris. While giving a statement about the district’s professional culture, Sjoberg said the School Committee and Vogel want to partner with educators and employees to make the situation better. However, leaving a large group of dedicated, hardworking and talented administrators, curriculum directors, department heads and the LHS Student Council president in the middle of an angry crowd completely undercut that message. All of the administrators, directors and residents in attendance deserved better.
Equally disappointing was Vogel repeatedly looking down while the six people allowed to speak aired their concerns. She finally raised her head after Bryant Street resident Kristen Elworthy called her out on it.
There has been one bright spot in an otherwise distressing situation. School Committee member Kate DePrizio deserves kudos for raising awareness about the morale issue in a Facebook post.
Let’s be clear. There is a massive trust issue between school employees, parents and school officials right now. That problem is going to continue to fester unless school leaders change their approach, revaluate how business is being conducted, and begin showing more compassion, empathy and humility. The School Committee needs to acknowledge that concerns need to be addressed and will be addressed.
All of those things will go a long way toward rebuilding trust and respect with educators, staff and townspeople, which is not going to happen overnight.
It’s important for Vogel and the School Committee to remember that actions speak louder than words. Hopefully they get the memo.
