On a cold Monday morning — following a weekend of behind-the-scenes discussions among Newton Public Schools (NPS) administrators, staff, and PTOs regarding appropriate ways to welcome student back — Newton Public Schools opened for classes on February 5 for the first time in 18 days. Superintendent Anna Nolin told Fig City News that she “sincerely hopes we can heal from this and move to student academic and social-emotional purposes.”
Elementary parents reported their kids being hugged and in some cases getting cards from their teachers, with many schools encouraging spirit-wear featuring school logos and colors. Ashley Remis, a parent at Williams Elementary School, said, “Our family is relieved that schools are finally open. It was evident Monday morning that kids are excited to be back with their peers and be in the classrooms learning again. The unpredictability during the strike was hard for everyone, and we are looking forward to getting back to the routine our kids thrive on.”
Opening was delayed by one hour across NPS to allow time for teachers and principals to prepare for the re-opening. Ashley Raven, Special Education Teacher at Newton Early Childhood Program, said: “Being back in my classroom and seeing my students reinforced everything we were advocating for throughout the strike. The days were long, and emotionally and physically challenging, but every moment of difficulty will be worth it to be able to give my students more of the education they deserve.”
Court Proceedings Continue
Outside of the classroom on Monday, following the terms of the Return-to-Work agreement, the School Committee and the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) joined with the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (CERB) to ask the Middlesex Superior Court to reduce the $625,000 of coercive fines accrued by the NTA during the Teachers Strike, on the condition that any reduction be paid by the NTA to the Newton Public Schools (NPS) by February 29.
According to the joint request, the School Committee had filed an affidavit stating that NPS had incurred more than $1.3 million in costs as a direct result of the Teachers Strike. Separate from the joint motion files by the School Committee, NTA, and CERB, one of the private citizens to file a motion against the NTA while the strike was occurring filed an additional motion on Monday with the court requesting an “evidentiary hearing or trial” to assess the damage incurred by individuals due to the strike.
City Council Actions
Also on Monday, Newton’s City Council President Marc Lardeo and Vice President David Kalis issued a memorandum to report that a new working group has been formed, dedicated to community engagement (see Fig City News article).
On Monday evening, February 5, the City Council approved $11.4 million of expenditures on various maintenance items across the NPS buildings, as listed in the City Council Reports Docket items #33-24 (page 6), as well as an appropriation of $925,000 for curriculum materials. Mayor Fuller described in her December 17 2023 e-newsletter her allocation of one-time surplus funding for these projects.
School Committee member Paul Levy (Ward 6), who has been outspoken regarding the effect of years of NPS deferring maintenance, told Fig City News: “I’m so pleased the Mayor designated and the Council approved these funds, which will allow us to carry out a number of maintenance projects that were deferred for lack of funding in previous years. Many have a direct impact on the quality of the classroom experience for teachers and students. It feels good to start catching up!”
Statewide Reading Curriculum Bill
Although reading curriculum may not make the same local headlines as news regarding the Teachers Strike or large-scale City expenditures, the Newton Literacy Collaborative sent several emails to its distribution list on Tuesday urging recipients to advocate for Massachusetts House bill H.579. The Act promotes ” Science of Reading” based instruction, in line with national trends toward those methods. The Act is scheduled for a committee vote on Wednesday, February 7. Reading curricula has been heavily debated in NPS and other districts across the nation for many years.
Finally, for those residents who over the past three weeks have not yet satisfied their desire to spend time monitoring NPS governance and politics, the first School Committee meeting since before the Teachers Strike is scheduled for Thursday, February 8. The Zoom link and agenda are here.
Bruce Henderson contributed to this article.