Survey
Four hundred members have now completed the survey we sent out on Tuesday, January 28. That is a great start!
Please help NTA leadership get a truer picture of your working conditions and quality of life, and make it possible for us to advocate more forcefully on your behalf. Help us represent you!
Share your experience in the workplace, both what you think is going well, as well as what you think needs improvement.
All answers you provide in this survey are anonymous, and no identifying information will be shared publicly, especially with administration.
Click here to begin the survey. It will remain open until 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 11th. It will take about 30 minutes to complete.
At the end of the survey, we ask a series of questions that gauge depression. We asked these to assess how well, in the aggregate, NTA members are doing. Because the survey questions are anonymous and confidential, if you individually are suffering from depression, we do not know who you are. If you need mental health support, the following sources may be of help:
- Call mental health line: 988
- NPS EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
-Psychology Today website: search for a mental health provider who accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance.
Newton School Committee Considers
Making MCAS a Local Graduation Requirement
Did you know the Newton School Committee is considering rolling back our statewide victory repealing the MCAS graduation requirement by making it a local graduation requirement?!
Please contact Mayor Ruthanne Fuller; Newton School Committee members either as a whole or individuallly: Rajeev Parlikar, Christopher Brezski, Anping Shen, Tamika Olskewski, Emily Prenner, Paul Levy, and Barry Greenstein; as well as Superintendent Anna Nolin let them know: Newton's High Schools already have rigorous graduation requirements. We do not need MCAS to be a local graduation requirement!
And, if you can, please attend Monday evenings "Town Hall Listening Session" and let the School Committee know directly your concerns about making MCAS a graduation requirement for Newton students (along with anything else you would like to share with committee members). (High school educators, we know that your schedule makes this is a difficult, if not impossible, time for you, but if you can make it before the end of the meeting, please do!)
Date: Monday, February 3, 2025
Time: 3:30-5:00pm
Place: Brown Middle School, 125 Meadowbrook Rd, Newton, MA 02459
MTA Licensure Workshops
The Center for Education Policy & Practice and Training & Professional Learning invite PreK-12 Educators to join Education Policy Specialist Beth Tripathi and Professional Development Strategist Dan Callahan for workshops on the licensure process for different career stages. Registration is open now for the Winter Virtual Licensure Workshops:
Jan. 29 – Licensure Basics for Early Career Educators
Feb. 26 – Licensure Basics for ESPs
Mar. 26 – Professional License Renewal
All workshops will be at 7 PM. Members can register at https://massteacher.org/events-and-conferences/licensure-workshops.
MTA Events This Year:
Early Career Educators' Conference: March 1, 2025 in Worcester, MA
ESP Conference: April 5-6, 2025 in Southbridge, MA
MTA Annual Meeting: May 2-3, 2025 in Springfield, MA
In the News
This article in the Boston Globe by John Hilliard, "Almost unfathomable’: Mass. educators grapple with prospect of immigration raids in schools" reports on the statewide response of school districts and unions to Donald Trump's attacks on immigrants in public schools.
I found this opinion piece by Ezra Klein in the NYTimes, "Don't Believe Him," to be both disturbing and reassuring.
In solidarity,
Mike Zilles, President
Newton Teachers Association
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