Waltham Educators Association protests removal of SEI program, cutting ESL faculty from budget
At the April 15 School Committee meeting, Waltham High School teacher Maria Luiza Rodriguez read a letter backed by the Waltham Educators Association raising concerns about the elimination of sheltered English immersion classes and about next year’s proposed budget, which would cut four ESL teachers and a part-time ESL coach.
The letter, signed by 75 WHS teachers across departments, brought up four main concerns: the decision was made without input from teachers, students or families; the district has not provided a clear plan for how beginner English learners will succeed in mainstream classrooms; the new model may not meet state compliance requirements for ESL programming; and cutting staff during such a significant transition could harm students.
WEA put out a statement on Facebook claiming that 20 additional educators wanted to sign the letter, but did not for fear of retaliation from the district.
Around 30 educators attended the meeting as a show of support, and several spoke during public comment. They said that without proper resources, the shift would hurt students and negatively affect the school’s dropout rate. “Inclusion without the right support is not equity,” said WHS history teacher Lauren Sampson during the meeting.
Teachers argue that successfully implementing the change would require months of targeted professional development, which has not been planned. Regarding staff cuts, they contend that although WHS enrolls fewer English learners than last year, ESL teachers will be needed more than ever during this transition to mainstream classes.
“Placing foundational-level ESL students in mainstream content classes with their fluent English-speaking peers is a monumental instructional shift for WHS,” the letter states. To ease that transition, the letter argues that ESL teachers should co-teach in mainstream classes rather than be cut.
WEA is calling on the School Committee to reject the proposed staff cuts and require the district to produce a detailed implementation plan to account for the loss of SEI classes in the fall.
The committee voted to have Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa present the district’s reasoning for eliminating SEI classes and cutting ESL staff at its May 6 meeting. Mendonsa and Assistant Superintendent Shannon Conley could not be reached for comment.
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Again??!! “…the decision was made without input from teachers, students or families…” I’m so tired of hearing this. Plus, as usual, no presentation of the reasoning, justification or motivation for making the changes. Another short-sighted proposed change with no involvement of the people directly impacted. And this in a city where 16% of residents are Hispanic or Latino, 45% of students in the Public School system are Hispanic and 26% are foreign born and where 32% of persons under 5 years speak a language other than English at home. The last being one indicator of students’ potential difficulty with success starting school when instruction is entirely in English or put on the shoulders of already over-burdened and untrained classroom teachers.
I agree. Whether it’s the schools or other city departments, it seems like there is a recurring pattern of unilateral decision-making from our City Leadership. We need a system of local governance that views its residents as partners, not just recipients of a final budget. Real community engagement means consulting stakeholders before a plan is set in stone, not after the protest signs go up. Effective and sustainable progress only happens when every voice is part of the conversation.