MTA
Supports New Bedford High School Educators
Urges
Replacing Unilateral “Dismissal†Plan with a Collaborative
Redesign Effort
New
Bedford School Superintendent Pia Durkin informed New
Bedford High School educators just before winter break that
she intends to implement a school “turnaround plan†under
which all staff will be required to reapply for their jobs
and that at least 50 percent of them will not be
rehired.
This
announcement sent shock waves throughout the district. NBHS
has been designated a Level 4 school and therefore is
subject to school improvement interventions under state and
federal laws and regulations. In order to be eligible for
federal funds to support a school improvement plan, a
district must choose from one of four redesign strategies.
However, of the four redesign strategies available, the
“turnaround†model that requires changing half the staff is
the most drastic. Based on the experience of the other
Level 4 schools in the state, the more collaborative
“transformation†model has a greater track record of
success.
The
district began negotiating with the New Bedford Educators
Association over the impact of the proposed changes on
January 7.
The NBEA
and the Massachusetts Teachers Association both strongly
oppose the involuntary dismissal of half the staff and are
urging district administrators and the political leaders in
New Bedford to reconsider their decision. The NBEA is
asking MTA members to attend a rally on January 17, at 3:30
p.m., at New Bedford City Hall to support NBHS teachers and
protest the mass dismissal of staff, which threatens to
disrupt the education of high school students as well as
the livelihood of educators.
Below is
a statement on this issue that we released today.
The MTA strongly opposes school turnaround models that rely
on the forced turnover of large numbers of staff. These
strategies are disruptive to the lives of educators as well
as to the students and communities they serve. The negative
impact on the morale of educators in the district from such
an action would greatly impair the district’s ability to
attract and retain highly qualified educators in the future
and would lead to an atmosphere of fear, anger, sadness and
distrust for years to come.
The MTA believes that a far better way to serve NBHS
students is for organizations representing educators,
administrators, parents, students, business and community
leaders to sit down together and work on a school
improvement plan that:
• is based on a shared vision of success and interventions
and strategies supported by solid educational
research;
• provides consistent district and school-based
leadership;
• builds on the strengths of the school and community;
and
• provides supports, resources and professional development
where there are deficiencies.
For this reason, we call upon the administration of the New
Bedford Public Schools and the city’s political leadership
to rescind their decision to involuntarily dismiss all of
the NBHS staff and require them to reapply.
We ask that the district leadership meet with the union
leadership and educators at the high school immediately to
construct a meaningful plan with measurable improvement
goals. This plan should identify specific resources and
supports to meet these goals.
NBHS educators have long worked very hard to provide their
students with a quality education despite working under
five superintendents in six years. They welcome new
strategies to improve the academic achievement, graduation
rates and social and emotional health of their students. If
the educators and administrators of New Bedford High School
are committed to the implementation of a collaboratively
developed strategic turnaround plan, then the educators and
administrators should be permitted to remain working at the
newly designed High School.
The MTA believes that this approach has the greatest
likelihood of improving student success through a process
that can be supported by all parties involved.