First, I would like to thank you for your service to the students at Erving Elementary School and the Erving community by serving on the Erving School Committee.
I am writing to respectfully ask that you work together as a team of five to settle the contract for Unit A members that is currently in mediation since negotiations failed. One aspect of negotiations that I believe is holding up negotiations is a M+60 lane/column. You may not fully understand or be aware of what this means, so I want to let you know why the addition of this lane is important to the students of Erving.
When teachers take graduate level courses, we earn credits beyond our initial bachelor’s degree and master’s degree. Typical graduate level courses completed receive 3 credits. So for approximately every five graduate level courses, we would cross a lane to either a +15, +30, and +45 (our highest on the master’s level in our current contract that expired on June 30, 2022). Teachers are required to obtain professional development points (PDPs) for each five year period of our license. Using me for an example, I re-certified in 2020, so at that time I needed to have PDPs in order to renew my licenses — I have licenses in Elementary Education 1-6, Special Education Pre-K-8, Special Education 5-12, Administrator (all levels), as well as my ELL Endorsement. I receive many of my PDPs through our school and district sponsored professional development during each five year span. I also elected to take courses which also provided PDPs. However, I would have had enough PDPs during each of these five year spans to not need to take any courses.
Why do I also take courses in addition to the professional development the school and district already provide me? First, I want to learn the latest and greatest information to implement directly with my students! Also, I want to expand my knowledge and expertise as an educator through detailed coursework. I currently have my master’s degree and 60 credits beyond.
* Summer 2020: Distance Learning — This course was developed because remote learning would be happening. I wanted to learn how to effectively meet the ever changing needs of how to teach students while not being face-to-face.
* Fall 2020: Education Technology — Since we were working in a hybrid model with many of our students working remotely all day, I wanted to learn and implement strategies to make remote learning educational while using all of the resources available.
*Fall 2021: Social Emotional Learning — We were returning to school full-time beginning in August. Being away in a hybrid mode and having to quickly, at times, return to remote learning (sometimes at a moment’s notice) I needed to focus not only in teaching and learning, but effectively meeting the social challenges of students while implementing new ideas about how to get students back to learning.
* Winter 2022: Growth Mindset — Having new knowledge and a focus on social emotional well-being, this course made sense because so many students felt like they couldn’t be successful.
* Summer 2022: Google Classroom — I took this course because I requested and received an interactive Promethean board. Through grants, our school received lots of new technology, and I wanted to supplement other learning around Google to make learning more fun and efficient.
I didn’t have to take these courses because they were not required. I wanted to learn so I could be a more effective teacher and meet the ever changing demands. Do you not want me to use any of this knowledge? Should I just forget all of this content? When a student has social-emotional difficulty or thinks s/he can’t be successful, should I just forget about the strategies of some courses and let the child struggle? When a student needs help with Google or technology, should I disregard all of the ideas and activities to have them flounder? Each of these courses and credits have had a positive impact on our students! I know other colleagues have also followed a similar path as I have described to best meet the needs of their students.
At the November School Committee meeting, our principal gave data about reading and math declines and the number of children increasing in need of intervention. She also spoke about the social-emotional needs and the number of referrals for counseling. This is real!
Two people do not speak for the entire committee. The negotiations subcommittee should bring back a proposal, but, at the end of the day, the entire committee makes a final vote. So once again, I ask that you work together to settle this contract fairly and quickly. Let’s get back to working collaboratively and be thankful we have each other.
I appreciate your time reading and reflecting about the content in this letter. I am thankful for each of you and your voice, compassion, and understanding! I am always available if you have any questions
Steven Kaczmarczyk has been a teacher at Erving Elementary School since August 2007.