Mayor, NTA President address teachers
On Wednesday, August 31, Newton Public School teachers, administrators, the School Committee, and the Mayor gathered in-person for Opening Day at Newton South High School. The event was last held prior to the 2019-2020 school year, and at that time it served as a rally for a new teachers’ contract.
This year, the speakers focused on thanking educators for their work during the pandemic, and all expressed gratitude for being able to hold this year’s event in-person.
In her remarks, Mayor Fuller cited building an antiracist society and tackling climate change as examples of the burdens on NPS teachers. Newton Teachers Association President Michael Zilles expressed satisfaction with the existing NTA contract, which is effective through the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. However, he cautioned that the next contract, which will be negotiated this school year, will need to account for recent inflation. He warned the School Committee not to stall negotiations, as he alluded to prior School Committees allowing teachers’ contracts to expire.
Interim Superintendent Kathy Smith gave one of the longer speeches of the day, reviewing her background as a Brockton special education teacher and sharing anecdotes of her raising her family as a professional educator.
