By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — School officials vowed during a Nov. 21 meeting to address a variety of concerns raised by the Lynnfield Teachers Association (LTA).
LTA President Alexandria Cellucci sent Superintendent Kristen Vogel and the School Committee a letter in late October outlining a number of concerns educators have about the state of the district. She said 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.
Cellucci also recommended in the letter 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.”
School Committee Chair Rich Sjoberg thanked the LTA for “communicating their concerns, perspectives and hearing their understanding of the current teaching climate with us directly.”
“We have always prided ourselves on maintaining a collaborative and mutually-respectful relationship with our teachers and the teachers’ union,” said Sjoberg. “I believe that all of us — the School Committee, administration, educators, staff and parents — share a common goal of providing the best education to our students. We recognize and appreciate the hard work our educators do for our students every day to achieve this goal. We will take great effort to support and collaborate with our teachers. Together, we have established Lynnfield Public Schools as one of the best school systems in the state and one that continues to make progress on every measure of success.”
Sjoberg said he was “saddened to receive messages about concerns with the district’s professional culture and support of our educators.”
“I thank the teachers and staff for reaching out with their candor and honesty,” said Sjoberg. “We hear you and want to partner with you to make this better.”
In the wake of a number of employees leaving Lynnfield Public Schools, Sjoberg maintained that the district does not have a retention problem even though Cellucci stated in her letter that it exists.
“In any given year, there are employees who leave for a variety of reasons, including illness, family needs, retirement, a new opportunity or other personal reasons,” said Sjoberg. “Such normal workplace changes can be just that: Routine shifts in a dynamic system of people making decisions that best meet their needs. This is not necessarily a sign that the district fails to support its teachers and administrators or that we have created a retention problem. Indeed, until a few weeks ago, we had not heard of any concerns about culture. I would like to be clear: We respect our teachers and staff. We have had great success in attracting, training and retaining the best educators for our children in a very difficult hiring market. Our children deserve nothing less than the best. We, the superintendent and the leadership team, hear our educators right now.”
Vogel read a 197-word letter that she sent to school employees on the morning of Nov. 21. She said that both her and the School Committee “recognize, see and hear how challenging and difficult this year has been” for staff members.
“This year, in particular, you have been presented with unprecedented challenges such as student behaviors, new curriculum implementation, focus on more student data, standards-based report cards, Vision of the Graduate alignment, MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) implementation, technology integration and parent and community expectations,” said Vogel. “As a result, we have reflected and decided to pause and restructure upcoming professional development or department meeting time to further support you and give you time.”
Vogel also said the Administrative Leadership Team (ALT) will be pausing “walkthroughs of classrooms until February, as this can feel intrusive and distracting for you and your students.”
“We also plan on bringing you some joy over the next few months, so stay tuned,” said Vogel. “Thank you. We are grateful for all of you.”
Sjoberg also said school officials be looking at ways to “take some things off our teachers’ plates to ease the burdens they feel with ever increasing demands on their time.” He also said school officials will be looking to develop more ways to “celebrate our staff and show how valuable they are to our community and future.” He also the ALT will be “developing concrete supports to give teachers and staff what they need right now and in the future.”
Additionally, Sjoberg said Vogel met with the LTA’s leadership team after the superintendent and school board received the letter from Cellucci. He also said Vogel has “offered to meet with the union leadership monthly moving forward so that we can understand and address issues collaboratively.”
“The superintendent will also offer budget forums this winter for teachers and staff to ask questions and give feedback as she builds next year’s budget,” said Sjoberg.
Sjoberg also encouraged the large number of very concerned parents and community members in attendance to become more involved in the budget development process.
“While you are always free to share your thoughts and concerns with the School Committee, one of the best ways for you to show your support is when it comes time to approve the budget,” said Sjoberg. “We will begin the process of developing a budget after the new year and will have a number of opportunities for the public to weigh in. I would encourage each of you to participate in that process, including voting to approve the budget to be proposed at Town Meeting, so that we can continue to provide a top-quality education to our children.”
After Sjoberg and Vogel concluded their remarks, five concerned parents and a grandmother ripped school officials for their handling of the district’s various challenges.
