PRESENT: Rebecca Tidlund, Erica Nissenbaum, Kris Nordin, Abby Steiner, Kris Rueger, Sara Scibelli, Hilary Coughlin,, Valerie Sousa, Susan Thomas, Patrick Morrissey, Lisa Fitzpatrick
GUESTS: Chris Tyler, Allison Mulvey, Christy Parziale, Alex Lennon, Leanne Morissette, Kerri Laurenzo, Patti Kertanis, Lori Fallon
- Treasurer Report. We’re all up to date on payments with the MTA. Patrick Morrissey moved. Rebecca seconded. All in favor.
- Minutes October. Motion: Abby. Second: Susan Thomas. All in Favor.
- Seniority List. Abby reminded everyone that the seniority list is not related to years of service in the MTRS. Final Draft goes out in December. New hires’ seniority will not be reflected until next year, though it still counts.
- Safety Subcommittee met and discussed language to refer to injuries and threats to
teachers or other students. They decided on color codes for different behaviors. Also
asked what policies and procedures were in place to deal with disrupted learning.
They are also working on developing a way to document incidents. The ELEA will discuss
with ELPS, either at the central office or at the building level. develop policies and
procedures for dealing with dysregulated students. The Western Mass Regional Safety
Caucus. The meeting was canceled. Kris and Abby and building reps are going to reach out to Meadowbrook principal about the Principal Advisory Committee concerns.
- Government Pension Offset/Windfall Elimination Provision.
H.R. 82 has passed the House. We will be asking members to contact our senators
and Chuck Schumer.
- Union/ELEA Representation Concerning Parental Issues. Issues with Overly Zealous
Parents being very critical new teachers. This is happening to two NPT teachers at two
different schools. The question is, what is administration and ELEA’s roles in these
situations. There may be cases at other schools, though people haven’t come forward about it.
Kris Nordin anticipates more issues with the curriculum. One issue is the implementation of the
curriculum that should be at the central office level, but were addressed with a teacher. Another
concerns IEP implementation. Abby says the ELEA needs to push administrators to address
those issues. For example, if a teacher requests an administrator to be at a parent-teacher
conference, the administrator needs to be there.
- Other. Hilary Coughlin brought up the issue of ELEA members attending school committee
members. She and two other teachers went to the school committee meeting. She thought that
the school committee was caught off guard. She thinks it would make a statement if other
teachers would like to go and present a sheet for people to sign up. Erica asked if this action
was endorsed by the ELEA. Kris Nordin said that other locals have used it as
a bargaining tool or a matter of emphasis on an issue.
A guest brought up a teacher being bullied by a school committee member and thinks
it is a good way to make it known that the school committee is being watched.
Kris Nordin said ELEA reps can remind people that meetings are open.
Another Other. A guest asked where the union comes in when teachers don’t feel
supported, particularly with parents. Kris: A principal takes care of their staff. If they
need assistance, they seek it from the superintendent. Sara clarifies the question, what
happens when the building principal isn’t supported? The answer was, it’s situational.
Another Other. Suzanne Thomas brought forth complaints about the curriculum director, the coaches, and the new curriculum. There’s a concern that the coach might be reporting back about teacher fidelity to the curriculum. The reading teachers have concerns
about the curriculum, which is made for students with dyslexia.
Another Other. Concerns about a negative interactions with the curriculum director who swore
while students were entering the classroom. There have been other issues.
Sara said the negotiating team needs to look at the coaching job in the future.
Motion to
Adjourn: Erica Nissenbaum
Second: Kris Rueger
Vote: Unanimous