Dear Chairwoman Bae, Ms. Basse, Dr. Douglas, Mr. McCrann and Ms. Sevetson,  

As we begin a new academic year, National Education Association Barrington (NEAB) feels it is important to share with district leadership the collective sentiment currently held by an overwhelming majority of district educators. Teachers in Barrington have, for some time now, lived and worked in this district in which there has been a growing divide between those who are in charge and those of us who work for you. As you must be, we, the Barrington teachers, are exhausted by the feelings of negativity that continue to circulate around our community. They are discouraging because, after all, we are all here for the same purpose and with the same intent: to do what we feel is best for the children under our care. That this common ground exists is largely forgotten when district-wide educational decisions are continually made without the voice of important stakeholders. For veteran teachers specifically, this is an unwelcome shift. At the risk of sounding trite, Barrington Public Schools once felt like a family. And while it is of course a school system and a workplace, it has lost the sense of humanity and collegiality that once truly set it apart from other institutions and school districts.  Barrington - where we are continually awarded as having the best schools in the state.  Barrington - where educators proudly share a common vision with the School Committee and district administration to provide the best educational experience for every student. Barrington - where educators are continually lauded with accolades and told how valuable we are but yet, unfortunately, are not shown to be truly valued.

The following are some recent mandates, initiatives and protocols that we as educators have been directed to implement and/or follow over the past several school years, but ones that have been implemented without sufficient consideration of the input from the staff. Each of the following has created a tenor of frustration amongst teachers and a pattern of teachers being stripped of their agency to support students as they see fit: 

Learn and utilize a new learning management platform - Canvas.  

This platform was rolled out at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year at the start of the hybrid learning model in which no one had ever taught before. As a staff, we asked to delay the implementation of Canvas for even one semester until we got a handle on what hybrid instruction truly entailed. Despite the reasonable nature of this request, we were denied. It should be noted that experts at Canvas suggested a reasonable amount of time for an effective implementation of Canvas was closer to six months. Instead, we were given less than one month to prepare ourselves with virtually no professional development. In this instance, ignoring the professional opinion of the teachers and dismissing our requests proved to negatively affect morale and, worse, it negatively affected teaching and learning, just as we the teachers feared it would.  

Right to Read Requirements

Last school year about one-third of district teachers were unilaterally enrolled in the AIMs program to fulfill the state requirement for reading proficiency.  As part of this program there were 17 units of reading and coursework as well as 5 additional after school cohort meetings, all totaling well over 50+ hours of work that was required to be completed outside of the work day. In June 2022, the Rhode Island state legislature passed a bill that substantially lessened Right to Read requirements, as well as extended the time educators were allowed to complete requirements through 2026. As a result, continued district decisions around this requirement do not seem to make sound sense. Would it not make sense and be in students’ best interest to allow teachers to do their primary jobs first and most effectively and take advantage of the timeframe the state has granted for the Right to Read requirements?  Perhaps this point would have been raised if the professionals in the classroom were asked their opinion about whether this was a task best suited to be completed last academic year. This did not occur. 

Vaccine Mandates

The implementation of a vaccine mandate in the 2021-22 school year was an excellent opportunity for the school committee to model respect for the nearly 300 teachers in the district by at least engaging in a dialogue with the union before implementing vaccine requirements. Yet, this did not occur.  Contrarily, Barrington remains the only district in the state that opted to terminate teachers rather than allow them to continue mitigation strategies that had been proven effective since the beginning of the pandemic. Our vaccination policy was more strict than even that of the federal government. Before vaccinations were available, we were asked to provide private medical information about ourselves and our families (and we complied). We were asked to tell the district when we were traveling and to where (and we complied).  Many teachers have reported feeling uncomfortable with the level of personal information we have been asked to disclose, yet we have continually adhered to your requests.  It is unfortunate to say, but the way in which employees have been treated regarding Covid vaccinations helps to illustrate the lack of respect afforded to Barrington teachers as a whole.  

And now, this year:

2022-23 Covid Policy

This academic year, the school committee continues to mandate access to the classroom for any student who faces isolation due to Covid. While district teachers understand the importance of providing instructional materials to students who might be sick at home, regardless of illness, we fervently reject the idea that hybrid instruction though Zoom is the best method by which to deliver remote teaching and learning. Hybrid instruction served its purpose during the height of Covid, but it is no longer an acceptable form of teaching and learning. The Zoom platform is a frustrating distraction for those students in school who are having valuable learning opportunities derailed by connectivity and confidentiality issues, as well as classroom teachers whose attention cannot be fully focused on the learners in front of them. It is equally frustrating for students ‘learning’ remotely when they are unable to hear or see class lessons and therefore engage with their peers and/or teachers. For a district that relies so much on data collection to drive important educational decisions, what data was gathered on this topic?  Were teachers, students and/or parents polled about the level of efficacy of hybrid instruction? Have any members of the school committee or central administration observed a full day of hybrid instruction at the elementary level?  Professional educators have been telling you this method is not beneficial to our students’ learning, and yet our voices continue to go unheard.  In fact, during interim bargaining regarding the 2022-23 Covid policy,  the attorney for the school committee informed union leadership that educators are actually in favor of hybrid instruction.  In our eyes and for the members of NEAB, this is a false statement. 

The basic theme of this letter is to ask a simple question: When will the people responsible for making decisions do their due diligence and tap into the expertise of the teachers in this district? Yes, we are teachers, and yes, we are employees. We understand that. Yet, we remain experts in our respective fields, we are experts at working with and understanding young people, and because we work with these students every day, we have invaluable perspective and information. To disregard the resources you have in your staff feels, quite simply, irresponsible.  Per usual, and because educators are naturally resilient and hard working, we continue to take on extra work, for the betterment of the students, and, of course, we continue to hold ourselves to high standards.  We do everything asked of us because we are professionals who love our students.  But, we are tired and we are frustrated. We, your staff, are burning out.  

Yes, make no mistake: Barrington educators are burning out at alarming rates and at a time when our students need us the most.  Over the last few years, more Barrington teachers have left the district to go to other schools (or careers) than we have seen before.  Quite frankly, this is worrisome. This is best supported by the fact that more than 40 teachers (approximately 15% of the district teaching staff) did not return to BPS for this academic year.  It is time for the district leadership to take an introspective look at their own policies (such as hybrid instruction) and procedures that are pushing qualified, dedicated educators to pursue experiences in other districts or careers. 

With an implementation of the 2022-23 Covid policy in its current form, we fear our district leadership no longer understands the work, time and effort needed to be an effective educator in a post-pandemic world. If this understanding does exist, the leadership will change its approach with the rollout of new initiatives or policies going forward and acknowledge and trust educators’ expertise in our field. We, the school committee, district leaders, and educational faculty, have a responsibility to our students to work together, as we once did.  Indeed there has been a fracture in the relationship between educators and district leadership, but this relationship is not irreparable.  We are asking for a return to the collegiality and professional respect that once naturally existed between us.  Collaborate with us.  Be our partners.  Truly hear and see us.  Help us to rebuild the culture and climate of Barrington Public Schools.  You have a deeply devoted staff that works for you - prove to us that we and what we do matter. We look forward to continuing this conversation and to duly promoting a school environment in the 2022-23 school year in which ALL stakeholders feel valued, supported and important.   

Benjamin Fillo

President 

Nahum Mitnik

PR&R Grievance Co-Chair

Jill Malafronte

PR&R Grievance Co-Chair

Denise Andreozzi

First Vice President

Molly MacIntosh

Second Vice President

Lori Codega

Secretary

Adela Felag

Treasurer

Mary Roberts

Past President

Debra DePietro

BHS - At-Large

Samantha Stebenne

BHS - At-Large

Abigail Williams

BMS - At-Large

Lisa O’Connor

Elementary - At-Large