Last  updated, 7/10/23

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Use these instructions.  You can change your User Name and Password on the MTA site under “My Profile”…
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Access the current issue of “The EduGator“, Gateway Community Newsletter.  Back issues available at the bottom of each edition.
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Please click the above image, or HERE to access the school safety reporting form.  It’s anonymous and safe and provides the union with the data necessary to address safety issues within the school.

 

NEXT MEETING DATE –> 
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Dear GEA Members:

The MTA, in conjunction with the AFT and parent groups authored, endorsed, and filed the Thrive Act to end the punitive high stakes of the MCAS.  The bill will do two things. 

• First, it will end the requirement that students pass the MCAS to earn their high school diploma.  Students will earn a diploma if they complete all graduation requirements.
• Second, it will begin the process of ending State receivership in Holyoke, Southbridge, and Lawrence.  Currently, a receiver, appointed by the Secretary of Education and the Governor, controls all aspects of learning conditions, and by extension, working conditions in these schools.  This bill would return these schools to local control. 

I am asking for your help to encourage our elected officials to be fierce advocates for this bill and for our students and educators.  Please take a moment to click on the link below.  This link will take you directly to the page where you can email your state representative and state senator and tell them to support the Thrive Act. 

Contact Your Legislators! 

More Information…

Thank you for taking the time to support public education and hang on, we are almost to the end of the school year!

Best,  Jim Duggan

 

 

Successful MTA Annual Meeting
held for the first time in Western Massachusetts

 This year’s MTA meeting was attended by Bill Brown, Alexis Batra, and Abbey Keeler.  These delegates represented the Gateway Education Association in voting on priorities expressed in the form of official “new business”, “resolutions” and the overall budget for the MTA ($55 million this year!). It’s important to remember that, while often the more immediate and visible work on the union takes place at the local level – bargaining contract, resolving issues and grievances, etc., the MTA is the largest union in the state and has “the power of the purse” (thanks to our dues) and is able to use this power to influence the narrative at the state and federal level to support and advance or priorities in the halls of the legislature and the governor’s office.  It’s at the MTA Annual meeting that we steer the organization towards priorities that we, as members, support.

Some Highlights of this year’s MTA Annual Meeting: 

• We heard from locals across the state that successfully used strikes (or the threat of strikes) to leverage fair contracts
• We voted to fund the addition of  5+ new organizers whose positions will be (we hope) will be state-wide and flexible – moving to locals that are moving towards action to help plan actions, up to and including strikes.
• Dues will be increased by $20 ($7 to account for inflation, and 13 for additional support for actions that are, state-wide, leveraging increased settlements for units in many locals, and build on these successes to improve settlements going forward).
  
• Because this year’s meeting took place in Springfield, there was no expense to the Gateway Education Association for our delegates to attend – only volunteered time by our delegates (Thank You!)
•  Next Year’s meeting will, again, be taking place in Springfield!
• In other action on new business items, delegates voted to:
  • Publish in MTA Today and on massteacher.org a list of associations, organizations or businesses that discourage or condemn the act of joining a labor union. By 2025, the MTA and MTA Benefits will divest and disassociate from any voluntary affiliation with these entities.
  • Advance to the NEA and NEA Member Benefits a request to divest and disassociate from any voluntary affiliation with association, organizations and businesses who have actively engaged in practices designed to reduce or discourage the act of joining a labor union.
  • Reauthorize a Decarbonization Task Force for another year, to continue its work to move the MTA toward decarbonization by 2030.
  • Publish by the 2024 Annual Meeting an updated Threat from the Right” task force report, which will shed light on the local and national network of anti-worker and anti-public education groups and their funding sources.
  • Direct the MTA president to write to fellow state affiliate presidents, urging them to prioritize the pursuit of common-sense gun control legislation in their respective states, and to encourage the NEA to do the same.*** This and more info about the Annual Meeting can be found at:
    https://massteacher.org/news/2023/04/2023-annual-meeting-of-delegates

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Click Here to See More Pictures

Seven Gateway Superstars Speak Out for Rural Aid Before the
Joint Committee On Ways & Means – Boston Statehouse

Superintendent Smidy lead a contingent of Gateway staff and students to the Statehouse to make the case for fully (and adequately) funding rural and regional schools  in the 2024 budget.  The legislature’s own commission determined that $60 million was needed to sustain these schools and, as of the most recent budget, there is expected to be only between $7 and $10 million allocated.  This will mean cuts across the state to those districts that are already stripped pretty bare.  This comes on top of a poorly orchestrated distribution of the Student Opportunities Act (SOA) funds which saw Gateway School District receive only a .04%  increase to their previous year’s budget, compared with more wealthy districts like Longmeadow (12.8%),  Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard (34%), and so on…  These shortfalls, combined with the never-fully-funded commitment by the state to fully cover transportation costs for the district (which they used to lure smaller communities into regional agreements) leaves districts like Gateway in a constant state of crisis, and forces us to make cuts and leave what (and who) remains spread thinner and thinner…

Attending the hearing along with Superintendent Smidy were Val Zeh, Karen Leis, Nariyah Renaud, Joey Pisani, Jordan Dubour, and Salem Painter.  Not all were permitted to speak due to time constraints, but they presented as a team and were well received. The trip was quickly put together after the meeting was rescheduled to this past Monday to avoid conflicting with Good Friday (though it was moved to the 5th day of Passover?!)   The hearing was well attended (about 200 signed up to speak on the floor, with many more testifying virtually)  This said,  Gateway was one of (if not the) only rural school district to testify.   Joey Pisani was the only student to testify, and he spoke eloquently about what the absence of funds means for Gateway in real, human terms.  Joey personalized his testimony referring to real individuals and programs that make a major difference to the Gateway community and which depend on adequate funding to continue.  Joey received compliments from the board.  Superintendent Smidy expertly squeeze about 10 minutes of testimony into the 5 minute time limit.  They also had an opportunity to meet directly with Representative Blais and Senator Pease, among others.  It was a positive experience interacting directly with our state political system. This kind of outreach does have an effect and, whatever the outcome, Gateway will be better off for these efforts.  

Click the link below the pictures (above) to see more images from the day.

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Update On Budget (New Info, as of March 1st):

~(provided by Betsy Todd  – Thank you!)
   A few significant items different from February were: an unexpected additional 5 students enrolling in Charter schools for a total of 8, the Chapter 70 increase is quite small ~1%, regional transport up unexpectedly by10%, and that 32 of 78 grade 8 students have applied for out-of-district vocational education (that’s a whopping 41%!). 

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MTA – Woburn Educators Win Strong Contract ! !

“…The contract itself will bring huge gains and greater justice for Woburn educators, especially the essential paraprofessionals who will see a dramatic increase in wages – a 40 percent hike in starting pay – moving them closer to earning a true living wage. The teachers will also see better cost-of-living increases than they have seen in many years, including a starting pay for new teachers of $60,000…”  (click the headline to read more)

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Let’s Get Organized!  It’s Time for Gateway to Get Its Fair Share! 

Bill Brown, Your GEA Political Action Leader (PAL) is looking for colleagues to help plan, organize within the district and the community to push for a fair distribution of funds to rural and regional schools throughout the state (particularly in Western Massachusetts).   We can use you at whatever level your busy life allows for, including:   Joining our Mass Rural and Regional Schools Caucus (MA-RRSC), which we formed at our most recent Regional All Presidents Meeting in Holyoke.  If you’re interested in being added to this email group, please sign up here.   Working with me to encourage your colleagues to make phone calls, send emails, etc. to representatives in Boston (not just our own) to push for fair funding (and fully funding regional aid, transportation funding, etc.). Helping to bring community-members into the Caucus to develop a strategy that directs frustration, not at each other (school vs. community) but rather towards Boston, which is the source of the inequitable funding. Commit to being a member who will make the brief calls and send the emails to legislators and MTA leadership to push for more rural and regional support Need some info to fuel your commitment.  Look here.

THE FAIR SHARE AMENDMENT, WINS!

Congratulations to all those who helped to make this happen!

Passing this amendment is the first step.  The next steps involve continuing pressure to make sure that these additional funds are directed towards education in ways that matter (i.e., not more high stakes testing, but a solid investment in our schools and the staff that breathes life into these buildings.

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Please Don’t Forget to Vote Today!  The stakes are high!

The MTA recommends the following choices:  See MTA recommendations here

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The MTA says “VOTE YES ON QUESTION #1”:  Don’t believe the misinformation being spread in these last days before the election.

The most recent ad opposing the Fair Share Amendment warns that millions will pay taxes on home sales as a result of this proposal.  This is not the case.  Here’s an example from the Daily Hampshire Gazette…

“La-Brina Almeida, a policy analyst at MassBudget, says… ‘So for instance, if you bought a home for $300,000 and sold it for $1.5 million, the initial profit would be $1.2 million. And once you use the exemption for $500,000 because it’s your primary residence, $150,000 for all of the improvements you made from the home over the years, and $75,000 in closing costs, the amount subject to income tax would only be $475,000, which is nowhere near the million dollar threshold that would be affected by Question 1.'”

The Fair Share Amendment will bring in almost $1.5 Billion to the state coffers for schools and infrastructure.  If it passes, our next step will be to put pressure on the governor and the legislature to channel some of that additional cash to the sorely underfunded Western Mass public schools.
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 New Calendar / Schedule Menu added to the GEA page drop-down menus. 
These include (so far):

• the Fiscal year 2023 district calendar (updated)
• The Gateway MS/HS After-School Meeting and PD schedule
  The Gateway MS/HS specific calendar
  The MS and HS bell schedules

If you have other schedule / calendars that you think should be added, please let me know and (ideally) send me a copy of these.  Thanks !

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Scroll down to the bottom of the page or click this link (list of our new staff) to see who’s joining us or moving positions.

Say “Hello,” if you see them! 

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Click HERE for more info on the amendment and actions you can take to support its passage.

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Get Your PDP’s Care of the MTA

MTA is offering online PDP workshops this fall.  Registration begins on September 16th.  Check out what’s offered and get more information HERE.   To Register (on Sept. 16th or later), you can visit this site

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We hope everyone had a great, relaxing, and restorative summer!

~The GEA Executive Committee

Meet the Executive Committee and your Building Rep’s

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

• If you are a new GEA Member, or if you have changed your home email address since last year, please send an email to VP Bill Brown ( with your home email (and cell phone #, if you’re willing to share these).  This will allow us to send you important messages in a private and secure way.  THANKS!

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Meet the New Staff Members (so far…)!

*** If you are new and don’t see your name below, PLEASE let Bill Brown (wbrown@grsd.org) know so we can add you and check in.

Middle and High School:

• Will Sullivan- Assistant Principal

• Kate Allen- School Counselor

• Paul Bertrand- HS Science

• Laurien Chaves-Cowles- MS/HS Spanish

• Kylie Crawford- MS SAC

• Rachel Dougherty- EL Teacher

• Michael Marchetti- HS SPED

• Kolby Palmer- MS/HS Interventionist

• Ken Silberman-Bunn- 8th Grade SPED

• Cheryl Miller-Harper- LTS 7th Grade SPED

• Liz Lewis- LTS Lifeskills

• Deb Thomas- HS Inclusion Para

• Kimberly King- VIP Para

• Kristie Poehler- Brailist

• Kellie Adam- Lifeskills Para

• Julie Beaulieu- 7th grade para LTS

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Chester and Littleville:

• Mikayla McMahon, Grade 3 (Chester)

• Emily Boyden, Paraprofessional (Chester)

• Ashley Therrien, Math Intervention (Chester)

• Brendan Goodwin – Music Teacher (Littleville / Chester)

• Rebecca Boisvart, Adjustment Counselor (Chester)

• Betsy Todd – Math Intervention (Littleville)

• Mikayla McMahon, Grade 3 (Chester)

• Kara Rousseau – Paraprofessional (Littleville)

• Michael LaBranche – Paraprofessional (Littleville)

• Kayla Bree Turner – Pre-K Paraprofessional (Littleville)

• Kara Tremble – Paraprofessional (Littleville)

• Greg Baker – STEM Teacher (Littleville / Chester)

• Ryley Carlton – K-1 – Special Education Teacher (Littleville)

• Heather Fortier – Nurse (Littleville)

• Jen Bak – Moving to Kindergarten (Littleville)

• Sherri MacLeod – Paraprofessional (Pre-K)

• Danielle McCarthy – Moved to forth Grade (Littleville)

• Cecilia Moreau – Fifth Grade Long Term Substitute (Littleville)

• Stephanie Flinker – Grade 3 Teacher (Littleville)

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Custodial Staff:

• Peter DiSantis – Custodian (Littleville)

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Cafeteria Staff:

• Kate Phillips (part time)