Paid Advertisement Paid Advertisement
The power of organizing and collective action made the difference
for the Leominster Education Association this fall as members
concluded negotiations on a new three-year contract. Educators
showed up in force at School Committee meetings, as they did in
the photo above on Oct. 5, proudly displayed their “Public Funds for
Public Schools” stickers and distributed fliers at public events. In
the end, the School Committee withdrew some of its most onerous
proposals and educators got a contract that includes more teaching
time, raises and more professional development.
Photo by Sarah Nathan
percent raise if they liked you. If they
just tolerated you, you might get a 1
percent raise. And then there was one
teacher whose kids had high scores on
the Iowa Test of Basic Skills who got
$10,000. But it was all random. You
never knew what you were going to get.
The environment was toxic. The
administrators claimed they wanted
you to collaborate with one another, but
there was a disincentive to collaborate
since teachers were competing against
each other for money.
As bad as it was for teachers, the
environment for kids was often worse.
I also saw a system designed to remove
kids who needed the most help. For
example, a number of our kids were
Haitian Creole English language
learners. Now, on paper these students
got ELL services, but compared to real
ELL services at a public school, they
got no ELL services. Some of these
students were kept back multiple times
until their families said, “I’ve had
enough of this” and moved them back
to the public school.
The same was true for students on
Individualized Education Programs. I
sat in IEP meetings with parents who
didn’t speak English and whose kids
were being held back. The parents
were never offered translators. I felt
they were coerced into accepting the
IEP determination without any real
understanding of what it meant.
All this worked well for the
charter schools, as they were able to
remove kids who needed the most
services and would lower test scores.
For me, teaching these kids without
them getting adequate support was like
swimming in handcuffs.
Watertown is very diverse. I find
the kids in my classroom fascinating,
and they have varied needs and
wants. The kids in the charter school
were just the same. But there was no
conversation about what made them
special. It was all about meeting
your objective, and the objective was
the same every day: Improve their
test scores. Now, the classroom is a
learning experience for me. I am proud
to call teaching both a career and a
profession and to be able to do what I
truly love every day.
Milton Campus
617-333-2364
Plymouth Campus
508-747-2424
For more information, visit
curry.edu/education
CURRY
COLLEGE
DIVISION OF CONTINUING
AND GRADUATE STUDIES
Master
of Education
• Elementary Education: Grades 1-6
• Special Education: Moderate Disabilities, Grades PreK- 8
• Hybrid format – a combination of in-class and
online meetings
• Experienced teachers can earn a second license in elementary
education or special education by completing just two courses
and a practicum
Change
the World …
One School
at a Time
Principal and
Supervisor
Licensure Program
One-year accelerated program prepares you for one of the
following leadership roles:
• Principal/Assistant Principal Licensure (PreK- 6, 5-8, 9-12)
• Special Education Administrator (all levels)
• Supervisor/Director (level depends on prerequisite license)
Second Teaching
License