The School Committee (SC) races underway feel particularly contentious, and I think that’s understandable: for the first time in a year and a half, the SC has to listen to us.
That is an exciting prospect, particularly after the frustration of feeling voiceless since the beginning of the pandemic. We stood on the sidelines and watched the SC make repeated, unforced errors that could have been avoided had they only listened to people, had they only collaborated with people. Instead, they took unilateral action without consideration for consequences, backpedaled frequently, and lauded themselves for what the community considered to be spectacular failures. Parents, students, and teachers saw the problems coming, offered solutions, and were brushed aside.
In light of that, this election has a sense of urgency to it. There’s a chance to course-correct, to finally, finally have our voices heard. There’s a fear, based on the last 18 months, that this might be the only chance to have our voices heard until the next election cycle. Understandably, voters are highly invested in the outcome.
Though folks may disagree on the candidate, most seem to agree on two priorities: they want what is best for the kids, and they want someone who will actually listen to them. Those are my priorities as well, which is why I believe Shawn Fitzgibbons is not just the best option we have, but an option that we are lucky to have.
I’ve been teaching math and physics at Newton South High School for a little under ten years, and I’ve thought of little else than what is best for my kids. Since March 2020, I have watched students suffer at the hand of SC policies that exhibit a detachment from the realities on the ground, from the lives of our students. The botched reopening, a comical facsimile of a testing program, and an unwillingness by those in power to even check if the air was safe for our students to breathe has horrified me. Teachers and parents were united in wanting a safe return to school for students, and the SC failed us all.
Shawn is the candidate who I know with certainty would not make those mistakes. Shawn has been in the buildings as a member of the Mason Rice School Council, listening to students and staff. He has worked with our students as a frequent volunteer leader at Mason Rice. He has actively advocated for the students who need it the most as a board member of FamilyACCESS of Newton. Most of the current SC members have popped into buildings only for photo ops or tours; Shawn has been in buildings doing the work.
If you’re like me, you were screaming at your computer screen as SC members failed to collaborate time and time again. We saw firsthand that if the SC had only collaborated with the community, they would have succeeded; no one person can strongarm the group into seeing the light. Having served in so many collaborative leadership positions, Shawn is the ideal candidate for such an organization.
We do not need a CEO, especially of dubious regard; we need someone who can effectively work with others in a group setting. We do not need someone who responds to the concerns of those for whom they’re responsible by accusing the complainants of “creating a culture of whining” and “playing the victim;” we need someone who has already proven they’re willing to listen to those in the trenches. We do not need someone who has claimed to suffer from a “disease” where they don’t notice their own poor judgment; we need someone who has, time and time again, demonstrated sound judgment, empathy, and a commitment to doing right by our kids.
We need Shawn Fitzgibbons.
A final note – You trust us, the teachers, enough to leave your kids in our care every day. Many of you cite the schools as the reason you came to Newton. It’s rather strange to me that some seem willing to trust us with their children, but are unwilling to trust us when we rally behind a policy or a candidate that we believe is best for Newton’s children. There is not a sinister cabal pulling our strings; we support Shawn because we really do want what is best for the kids, and working every day with them inside the systems of Newton gives us a pretty good idea of what that is.
The NTA is not an organization that teachers blindly follow; the NTA is the organization through which we speak. We have spoken, and we want the same thing that you do: to be heard, and to do right by our children.
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Ryan Normandin
Mathematics & Physics
Newton South High School
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