Dozens of educators, at least one who fought back tears, packed a School Committee meeting Thursday night demanding the removal of Student Services Director Paula Donnelly and Associate Director Emily Dean. The teachers accused Donnelly and Dean of ignoring safety concerns and requests for more staffing.
CURRENT PHOTOS / LEIGH BLANDER
The School Committee met later in executive [private] session to discuss demands by the Marblehead teachers union that Donnelly and Dean be fired.
“I spent five months in a state of alert while trying to teach and keep my class safe,” said Glover School teacher Jane Sullivan.
Sullivan said she asked repeatedly for a support person for a student in crisis, but did not receive one.
“I asked for help, and I was told to ignore the behavior and keep teaching,” she said. “They [Donnelly and Dean] have allowed dysregulated students to roam the hallways unsupervised and disrupt multiple classrooms with screaming, slamming of doors and multiple other behaviors.”
Sullivan continued, “Marblehead teachers have been asked to make do without support, instead being told that there are no bodies or money to support these students.”
The union, Marblehead Education Association, took a no-confidence vote in Donnelly and Dean on Dec. 14, after recent incidents at the Glover School involving student restraints. Interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness placed four Glover educators on paid leave while the district reviews its restraint policies.
McGuinness has launched an investigation into Donnelly and Dean’s performance but so far has not placed them on leave or fired them. That brought out the crowd of teachers Thursday.
“Our letter of no-confidence was ignored by the interim superintendent,” said Marblehead High School math teacher Nick Broughton. “Coming into this school year, staff morale was at an all-time low, and the lack of action by the interim superintendent is compounding our frustrations. The faculty, our students and our families deserve better.”
Broughton described a dysfunctional relationship between the student services leadership and teachers.
“As educators who serve this community, we are accustomed to working closely and collaboratively with our students, their families, our colleagues and administrators,” he said. “Dr. Donnelly and Ms. Dean routinely interrupt this process.”
He continued, “Although we are the people who build relationships with our students, Dr. Donnelly and Ms. Dean make decisions without us. Instead of seeking our input, team members are excluded from meetings, vital information is not shared with us, or our professional expertise is ignored. At times, decisions for our students have been made in our name without our consent or knowledge.”
‘Hit and kicked and punched’
Brown School teacher Cara Herendeen fought back tears as she addressed the School Committee.
“I am here in support of all special education students to receive the behavioral supports that they need,” she said. “I am here in support of all children who see their teachers being hit and kicked and punched… who see their classmates being aggressive without support or consequences. I am here for your children who are seeing their education interrupted because we have no support and we are told to just keep teaching.”
Catherine Homan, a fourth-grade teacher at Village, accused Donnelly and Dean of “allowing me to teach in unsafe teaching conditions.”
She said special education students who are legally entitled to support staff are not getting them.
“For two months, my students who require a paraprofessional to learn and feel safe [didn’t have one],” she said. “I was told to be patient. This is illegal.”
Two Glover kindergarten teachers added that they have seen “repeated incidents that threatened the safety of teachers, staff and students.”
Parents also spoke out, supporting teachers.
“To you the administration, listen to every single word, listen to what they need,” said Bit Coppola, who has students at Brown and Village.
She added, “Now that budget season is upon us, stand with our teachers and our district so we can provide them with what they need… more bodies for them, more support in the classroom and outside the classroom.”
Another mom added, “Any assurances that Glover is safe are disingenuous until past failures can be addressed.”
Later in the meeting, McGuinness addressed the concerns.
“We are definitely in challenging times that necessitate frequent communication,” she said. “I do respect the MEA deeply, and tonight is important and hard, and I hear you.”
McGuinness also assured parents that, even with the four Glover educators on leave, there is a short-term plan to cover student services.
“One area, reading services, is still in play to get coverage,” she said.
McGuinness said she is close to naming an interim principal to replace Glover Principal Hope Doran, who went out on medical leave on Dec. 5. Veterans School Principal Matt Fox has been filling in at Glover for the last couple of weeks.
School Committee Chair Sarah Fox asked Assistant Superintendent for Finance Michelle Cresta to identify funding needed for special ed services, in addition to coming up with level-funded and level-service budget plans for next school year.
“When we hear that we’ve gone from five BCBAs [board-certified behavior analysts] to one, I want a deeper dive into the special education budget to make sure what is being budgeted is in alignment with meeting the IEPs we have right now,” she said. “A grid needs to exist that looks at the number of hours for every service committed and the needs to match up the number of employees to cover those services.”
Budget update
Cresta and McGuiness presented updates on the budget process. The administration has been meeting with principals and department heads to determine their budget needs.
It will present “budget binders” to the School Committee on Jan 12. The administration will then work through budget changes to come up with both a level-funded plan, which would assume no increase in funding, and a level-services plan, which would require an override.
Communications help
The School Committee voted unanimously to hire a public relations professional, which board members attributed to the need to help the district navigate the crisis related to student restraint and the Glover School.
In the past, the committee has come out vehemently against spending taxpayer dollars on communications work.
The cost for John Guilfoil Public Relations is $9,500 through June. Guilfoil’s firm was hired earlier this month.
“I feel as though it may be hypocritical,” said member Alison Taylor. “At least personally, I was very clear about not wanting to spend money on a communications consultant. Crisis management is a different situation.”
Member Jenn Schaeffner added, “The optics. I go back several superintendents who have been asking about this. It is in extreme, unexpected situations good to have the right words for the community.”
Guilfoil sent out its first press release on Dec. 21, spotlighting a Toys for Tots drive at the Veterans School. Cresta explained that Guilfoil’s services are actually less expensive when the firm includes feel-good press releases, along with crisis communication services.
More investigations
The School Committee also unanimously approved moving forward with its own audit of policies and policy implementation related to support services and school safety.
The audit is in addition to McGuinness hiring an outside attorney to review the district’s policies and the investigation into Donnelly and Dean’s performance. No costs have been announced for any of these projects.
Cresta also plans to present a request for proposal for an audit of special ed services offered in Marblehead. The School Committee may vote on that at its next meeting, Jan. 4.
