I. National PTA Position Statements
Local Efforts:
II. Front Lot Beautification and Long-term Rebuild Advocacy
III. Kennedy area Traffic/Pedestrian Safety
IV. Somerville Educators’ Union Contract Negotiations
V. City of Somerville Schools Department Budget
VI. Diversity & Inclusion Goals
National PTA Have you wondered where PTA stands on national policy issues? Here are National PTA’s position statements to catch you up. Remember, PTA is a separate entity from Kennedy School and Somerville Public Schools, and our PTA unit falls under the umbrella of Mass PTA and National PTA. Kennedy PTA Initiatives: Front Lot Beautification and Long-term Rebuild Update from committee co-chair Kat Johnston: The city has taken concrete actions to start renovating the front playground. On January 29th, the city released a Request for Quote, a document which outlines the scope of the renovation, timeline, and necessary qualifications for an organization interested in leading the design work. A few highlights from this document include:
In the meantime, the PTA is working with Kennedy families and staff, along with broader Somerville community partners to make short-term improvements to the front lot this school year and through construction. The goals of these improvements are to improve the daily experiences of the students, generate enthusiasm and engagement to support the longer-term redesign efforts, and build relationships among the Kennedy community in implementing these improvements together. We'll have a table in the front lobby during Parent-Teacher Conferences on March 13th. Please stop by to learn more. You can also share any ideas or get involved via email to Kat Johnston (katsjohnston@gmail.com) and Jessica Adams (adams.jessicap@gmail.com). —————————————————————————————————————— Kennedy area Traffic/Pedestrian Safety After several recent traffic incidents involving Kennedy students, the PTA board continues to put pressure on the city to address the safety challenges of morning drop-off and afternoon pickup times. The City of Somerville is holding an Elm-Beacon Connector project Open House event March 10th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Kennedy Cafeteria. The PTA would like to encourage concerned families to show up to this event, learn about the upcoming traffic changes around the Kennedy, and speak up about your lived experiences and concerns. —————————————————————————————————————— Somerville Educators Union Contract Negotiations with School Committee/District (SC/District): For the first time ever, the SEU and School Committee’s contract negotiations has been opened to representatives from SPS PTAs and other parent groups. The SEU initially proposed to have completely open bargaining to increase community-wide transparency into this important process. The District declined to agree to that proposal and a compromise was reached that the SEU would be allowed to choose the composition of their core negotiating team and their silent bargaining team, a legally protected right. Our participation and role is that of guests of the SEU as “silent bargaining representatives.” As such, we are invited to silently witness the entire negotiation process and actively share our parent/caregiver perspectives and voices during the closed-door caucus portions of each negotiating session. During caucuses, we are encouraged to share our impressions and perspective, especially if and when our perspectives don’t align exactly with that of the educators present in the caucus. After four sessions so far, the District has completed presenting their contract proposals and SEU has one final set of proposals to present in the next session. No negotiations have begun, except to establish ground rules. The experience has been fascinating and eye-opening. The scope of the contract goes far beyond pay structures and employee benefits. The changes the SEU has proposed have been organized by a student-centered platform containing 5 main components: Educator Support & Autonomy Healthy & Safe Schools Effective Staffing and Workload Model Student Learning and Academic Excellence Attracting and Retaining High Quality Staff The SC/District has taken a different approach to presenting their proposals, which are significantly fewer in number and in narrower in scope than the SEU’s. While point-by-point negotiations haven’t begun in earnest, there seems to be general accord in the overarching goals of the SC/District and SEU to center students throughout the process. If you’re interested in participating in an upcoming negotiating session alongside a member of the Kennedy PTA Advocacy team, reach out to us at jfksomervillepta@gmail.com for more information. Negotiating sessions run from 3:00pm-7:00pm roughly every other Thursday at Somerville High School. Please connect with us ahead of time if you want to attend, as we do need to coordinate your participation under the ground rules and norms established by the two negotiating parties. —————————————————————————————————————— SPS Budget Season: It’s SPS Budget season and the preliminary fact-finding starts now. Here’s what we know from the first budget preview, shared at the School Committee’s Finance and Facilities’ Meeting on Feb. 12. It’s worth noting that less information is being shared than at this same point in the last budget cycle, probably at least in part because the city is not prepared to estimate Cost-of-Living (COLAs) or other staffing costs due to the current stage of the SEU contract process. The budget outlook is likely to be tight due to pressures at the federal, state and local levels. The city is preparing a level service budget: i.e., neither losses nor additions to services beyond expected cost inflation. The preliminarily announced budget increase to cover costs would be 2.4% over last year, but again, this doesn’t take into account other increases tied to COLAs or the contract. Here are meeting notes, taken by Jess Adams, who is on our Advocacy Team. Highlights: Known funding losses:
schools are above the income threshold for Title I grants.
Known funding increases:
Next public meeting of the School Committee Finance & Facilities Subcommittee: Wednesday, March 5th, at 6pm. Webinar registration will become available at this city website typically the Sunday night before the meeting is scheduled. FY26 Budget Timeline can be found on the city’s website here Stay tuned! —————————————————————————————————————— Diversity & Inclusion Goals: We have been asking ourselves important questions in these changing times. How can we be better allies to immigrant, LGBTQ+, BIPOC and other historically marginalized students and students with IEPs and 504s and their families? What can we each do to help bolster a safe community and learning experience for all? How will changing policies affect public education and what can we personally do? If local advocacy and allyship is important to you, a group of concerned Kennedy families are having ongoing conversations centering on local responses to Executive Orders. Want to join these efforts? Email Becky at jfksomervillepta@gmail.com for more information about how to be involved. Register for an upcoming webinar: PFLAG Greater Boston x ACLU Massachusetts Presents: Understanding LGBTQ+ Students' Rights with GBPFLAG & ACLU MA for Parents & Caregivers From the organizers: “Educate to Advocate with this interractive webinar. Learn about LGBTQ+ students’ rights in school, legal protections, and how to move into action as an adult ally.” Pre-register by clicking on this link. You will receive an email with zoom information after registering. Some additional reading & resources: Resources to combat anti-LGBTQ+ trans especially (and anti-DEIB) orders (compiled by the Kennedy advocacy group) |
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