
Dear Community,
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I’m writing to follow up on a message that I sent in late November. At that time, I was exploring the possibility of transitioning the Parent/Educator Collaborative to new leadership. For better or worse, there isn’t a broad group of parents/educators who are interested in joining the leadership team. I take this as an indication that the PEC has served its purpose, and it is time to phase out the organization. I am very proud of the work we did over the course of our four years together. We opened up lines of communication that hadn’t existed before. We hosted numerous public forums. We shared information about everything from city budgeting processes to school staffing issues. While the PEC will no longer exist, I sincerely hope that collaboration and communication between all stakeholders in NPS will continue to grow.I cherish the connections that I made during my four years leading the PEC. Many thanks to all of you for participating in this endeavor.
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Sincerely,
Alison Lobron
Founder, Parent/Educator Collaborative
Who We Are
The original members of the PEC shared a concern over a lack of transparency from our city leaders. This lack of transparency coupled with a “stay in your lane” culture among many members of city leadership, had created fertile ground for hostility, division and lack of trust among and between NPS stakeholders. Of particular concern to this group was the rhetoric of our city's leadership about educators. At the time that this group was founded, NPS educators expressed feeling undervalued, and targeted by anti-teacher commentary on social media and other platforms.
Through open conversation and the development of respectful relationships and partnerships, we continue to work hard to confront and attempt to heal some of the divisions that have grown in our community.
National context
Our country is facing a staggering teacher shortage. Educators are leaving the profession at an alarming rate, and the number of people entering teacher preparation programs has dropped precipitously. Newton is not immune to this problem. Like most school districts around the country, NPS has been struggling to fill positions at every level. There were an alarming number of teachers who left their positions at the end of last school year, and some even left during the year, which is something that was incredibly rare before the pandemic. Because of this, it is of utmost importance to attract and retain teachers with a contract that offers a competitive salary and supportive working conditions.