The School Committee has received hundreds of emails from community members, many of whom advocate for increased in person learning time. It's time the Committee heard more from us, and from our supporters in the community. I am writing to ask your support towards achieving three goals: A fair, SIGNED Memorandum of Agreement, REAL surveillance testing, and a timely completion of HVAC/ventilation repairs. These are issues that the Newton community will support. We need your advocacy to get our message to that community and to its leaders. Here is what you can do: First, click on this link, which will take you to a pre-written email to send to Superintendent Fleishman, Mayor Fuller, and the members of the School Committee. When you send the email, you can just enter your personal contact information and send the message we have drafted, or you can personalize your message. This is your choice, but if you personalize your message, remember to support our NTA "asks"--a signed MOA, REAL surveillance testing, and properly functioning HVAC. The Newton community wants safe schools, and parents do not want their educators unsustainably burdened. On these issues, we have common cause with the Newton community. We must drive home our message. Numbers matter: Each and every email counts. Please take this first step, if no other! Click here and send an email. Sending an email is a small action, but if all of us do so, it shows we are united, and it can have a significant impact. Second, spread the word: Encourage your colleagues to use this link to send an email too. Contact them in any way you can, send them the link, and encourage them to click it and send an email. Third, post the link on social media, on community forums or bulletin boards you frequent; send it to friends you know who live in Newton, and ask them to send an email as well. However, maintain professional boundaries: do not share the link directly with your students or with their families, and do not post on media you normally use to communicate with families and students about routine school matters. In last Sunday's EBulletin I said: Schools are only as safe as we make them. The members of the NTA have been working extraordinarily hard to make their buildings safe, to uphold the "four pillars." Our students have been also been remarkable in their willingness to uphold those same pillars. It is far past time for the School Committee to come forward and acknowledge our generosity, our sacrifice, our fear, and our extraordinary courage in the face of that fear. Let the School Committee know you need them to step up! Write an email. Encourage your colleagues to do the same. Share with friends and community. Click here. Take action! "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." Please take care and stay well. Mike Mike Zilles, President Newton Teachers Association
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