How to Support Brookline Public School Educators!

Brookline parents and community members have launched a grassroots movement in support of educators as contract negotiations continue.  Here’s how you can join them:

1.  FORWARD THIS ENTIRE MESSAGE TO OTHERS.  Copy and paste the content, or send the link.

2.  SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION: https://www.change.org/p/rebecca-stone-and-michael-glover-a-fair-contract-for-brookline-teachers-now

3. DISPLAY A SIGN:   Go to:  http://bit.ly/iwantalawnsign

4. SPEAK AT AN UPCOMING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING (3-5 minutes):  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090448aaa82aaa8-2016

5. WRITE OR CALL THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Consider using the subject line: We Trust Our Teachers

School Committee Email Addresses:

susan_ditkoff@brookline.k12.ma.us, barbara_scotto@brookline.k12.ma.us, ben_chang@brookline.k12.ma.us, helen_charlupski@brookline.k12.ma.us, michael_glover@brookline.k12.ma.us, lisa_jackson@brookline.k12.ma.us, david_pollak@brookline.k12.ma.us, rebecca_stone@brookline.k12.ma.us, beth_stram@brookline.k12.ma.us

6. DISPLAY A BUMPER STICKER (it won’t hurt the finish!) Email your mailing address and phone number to beu-mta@hotmail.com or pick one up from teachers in the schools.

7.  COPY & SHARE THIS MESSAGE from Brookline educators:

• Teachers and staff represented by the Brookline Educators Union have been working without a contract for more than 200 days.
• We have been attempting to negotiate a fair, long-term contract since the spring of 2014 – that’s almost 2 years of negotiating!
• The School Committee has yet to put forth any proposal that would address seriously the ever-increasing number of ineffective local and state mandates that remove teachers from the classroom and put unreasonable demands on our time.
• Instead of trusting teachers to do their jobs, the School Committee has instituted a culture of top-down management and data collection that cripples our ability to individualize instruction and provide the quality education that Brookline residents have come to expect and that every one of our students deserves.
• Educator morale across the district is at an all-time low.  We feel disrespected, devalued, and unheard by the members of the School Committee who were elected to support our schools.
• We are highly educated teaching professionals who understand deeply the challenges and needs of our school communities.  We have dedicated our careers and lives to this profession that we feel so passionately about, and put our hearts and souls into meeting the needs of every child that sets foot in our schools every day. In the end, these negotiations are about our quality of work life, which becomes the learning conditions of Brookline students.