“A lot of times in this city we’re told that there’s not enough money or the money is not the right kind of money for us to use for schools or for our children and so that’s why I’m here right now. And I really find that hard to believe, especially when the city produces the kind of surpluses that it does every year.”
– Northampton parent
Click here to read public comments from School Committee and City Councl meetings.
SOS – Support Our Schools requests that the Mayor, City Council and School Committee address the staffing and resource crisis in Northampton Public Schools. You can communicate your experiences and observations with city officials using the email template below as a starting point.
Email to:
Email Template
Dear Mayor Sciarra, City Councilors, and School Committee Members,
I’m writing to request that you resolve the school budget crisis by working together to allocate appropriate funding for students in Northampton Public Schools.
We know that inadequate staffing at every school has caused serious problems this year. There is abundant evidence of the harm done, and addressing these harms should be the highest priority of our elected representatives.
In October, November and December, public comment from numerous teachers described staffing struggles as the school year started. At the most recent February meeting, 18 commenters at school committee described serious problems continuing fueled by inadequate staffing in our schools. Public comments throughout the year can be found here.
As you have heard:
1. Teachers and students are being injured because there are not enough staff to address the actual needs of students. When the needs of children are unmet, then all students and staff can be put in unsafe situations.
2. IEPS are routinely being violated because there are not enough staff to ensure compliance. This means children are harmed by not receiving the services they are legally entitled to, and that Northampton is at risk of litigation over these violations.
3. Resignations are an impact of understaffing. Numerous staff across buildings have resigned this year. There isn’t enough staff to meet the needs of students. In February, a dedicated staff member from JFK Middle School stated the following: “Staffing really does overarch the problems that are continuing to happen at the middle school here in town… It’s a bit of an embarrassment at times … just because we’re so short-staffed for these crisis situations. You know, today I was one-to-one [with a student] instead of teaching the classes that I teach, and, by the way, I also teach four different classes. I teach two different grade levels of English language arts that require heavy modifications, so with all of the things going on I cannot mentally deal with working at JFK anymore.”
4. Lack of Intervention is an impact of understaffing. At the elementary and middle school levels, teachers are forced to decide which students currently behind in reading and math will receive supports because there are not enough interventionists. In addition, main offices are also being left partially unstaffed during the day.
5. Underfunding impacts all students in all buildings. Refugee children who have little to no English arrive in Northampton, a designated sanctuary city, and have been placed in large classes at Bridge Street School with insufficient support to help them access the curriculum and learn the school skills to begin their learning in this new country. Class sizes across the district are too large, and with the lack of paraeducators and interventionists, classroom teachers are stretched too thin as they try to meet the diverse needs of their overfilled classrooms. We need more staff now.
At the high school, staffing is alarmingly lower than comparable schools, and has been for many years. Students often cannot fill their schedules with core courses because there are not enough staff to offer an adequate number of sections. To measure up to similar area schools, we need 8-12 more teachers in key subjects such as Foreign Language, Life Sciences, Art, and English. The NHS school psychologist has a caseload of over 900 students when the National Association of School Psychologists says these numbers should be no more than 500:1. Since NHS staffing levels have been ignored over many years, its tangible needs are actually greater than all of the other schools.
With the increase in mental health and academic needs in recent years, students are not getting what they need. We need more staff now.
Please work collaboratively and effectively to begin to address the needs of Northampton students, so that all public school students in Northampton are able to receive the education they deserve.
Thank you,
Name, Address & Ward
