Ruling establishes fact of illegal strike, however State Superior Court would impose potential penalties. The Massachusetts Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (“CERB”) issued a ruling that the Newton Teacher’s Association (“NTA”) and the employees it represents, prior to their vote on January 18 “are about to engage in a strike in…
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As a potential strike by the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) looms Friday, parents fed up with stalled contract negotiations rallied outside of City Hall on Wednesday morning, to make their voices heard. “Staff morale is abysmally low,” said Alison Lobron, an organizer with the Newton Parent/Educator Collaborative who spoke at…
On January 18, a group of 22 City Councilors sent an open letter to the Newton Public Schools community ahead of the vote by the membership of the Newton Teachers Association, expected later in the day, on whether or not to strike. The letter calls for “an immediate return to…
On January 17, the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) published a response to the NPS slides and discussion points presented by School Committee Chair Chris Brezski at a question-and-answer session held by NPS with PTO leaders and the public on January 16 (see Fig City News article on that session). Among…
School Committee files Petition for Strike Investigation. Since the start of the new year, rumors regarding an imminent strike by Newton Public Schools (NPS) educators have gained traction, first on social media, then in the Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce newsletter on January 12, and then over this past…
As Katani Sumner started to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing on January 15, she encouraged the entire audience in the Newton North High School auditorium to join in as the moving lyrics were projected behind her. The Newton South High School METCO counselor’s rousing rendition of the more than…
On January 16, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) released the results of a study of the past 20 years of the impact of the METCO program on METCO students and their suburban peers. This longitudinal study, conducted by Tufts University Assistant Professor of Economics, Elizabeth Setren, found that…
On Sunday, January 14, over forty Newton parents, teachers, and elected officials met at the Scandinavian Cultural Center for an informal discussion about school funding. Horace Mann parents Alli Franke, Dan Evans, and Matt Mazer organized the meeting just days earlier and publicized it with the assistance of the Newton…
“Twilight and evening bell, / And after that the dark! / And may there be no sadness of farewell, / When I embark,” are just some of the moving lines from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, “Crossing the Bar.” Later set to music, the song is one of many soothing and…
Newton’s four Neighborhood Area Councils — Newton Highlands, Waban, Upper Falls, and Newtonville — are beginning their 2024 season by electing officers and setting goals for their two-year cycle. Much of their focus in recent years has been the redesign of their village centers as well as a number of…