Lynn Educators Call for Caps to Classroom Sizes, Fair Wages

On Monday, May 9th, educators including classroom teachers, paraprofessionals and parent liasions attended the special meeting of the Lynn School Committee in order to call for a cap to classroom sizes and for fairer, more equitable wages. 

The open mic session started with a Lynn Classical teacher, Alyssa Smiley, who noted that her Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) classes have grown over the years from approximately 20 students early English proficiency students to 30 and now 40 students. She called for a cap to classroom sizes and specifically noted that, for her students, it was easy to get off track because there were so many students in the classroom. David Poland, a social studies teacher also at Lynn Classical, agreed. Poland also teaches student who are new to the country and this year is doing so with 38 students in a conference room. He acknowledged that he believed that LCHS administration was "doing what it could do" given space constraints but said it was particularly challenging for his colleagues, three of whom as first year teachers. Poland also noted that attendance in classes was excellent and that students want to learn but class sizes are an impediment. According to the October 1st enrollment report from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), enrollment Lynn Classical is over 1,800 students.

Lynn English algebra teacher, Barbara Jones, gave a notable illustration of current overcrowding at Lynn English High School. Jones, who does not have her own classroom and pushes a cart between floors, teaches classes with 30, 38 and 43 limited English proficiency students in addition to supervising 37 students in study hall; in total, Jones is charged with 217 students per week. She referred to the current situation as "warehousing" students in a way to makes it difficult to build personal connections and exacerbates pandemic-related learning gaps. Like Classical, enrollment at Lynn English is also large with over 2,100 enrolled this year; the school enrolled 673 9th grades students as of October 1st and 536 10th graders. 

In total, there are over 5,100 students in grades 9 - 12 enrolled in LPS this school year between Lynn English, Lynn Classical, Lynn Tech and Fecteau Leary. 

The needs of newcomer and limited English proficiency students were raised by many who chose to speak. During the pandemic, educators pointed out that these newcomer students were being tasked with attempting to learn English, engaging in formal education for the first time in many years or ever, acclimating to the American school system, and now with large class sizes. Magalie Rowe, a teacher at Breed, noted that some of her students attend ESL courses through the Community Enrichment Program offered at Lynn Tech because of the barrier to learning present in LPS classrooms. Sheila O'Neil, president of the Lynn Teachers Union, highlighted that Lynn has a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to put a dent in the issues that the district has dealt with for years through additional funding that is coming to the district in the next few years. 

Classroom educators were not the only ones who chose to speak out at Monday's meeting. Speech and language pathologist Colleen O'Connell specifically spoke to the high case loads in her area. The governing body for speech and language pathologists calls for a median caseload of 48, per O'Connell; currently LPS speech and language pathologists have caseloads of 70 - 80 with some over 100. Further some of O'Connell's colleagues serve students in all grades and travel between multiple schools while others, according to her, fit students into their schedules based on convenience, not the actual needs of the students. Some LPS schools have no speech and language pathologist coverage at all this school year and the district currently has many vacancies as the high caseload is seen as a deterrent for applicants. 

Wages were also discussed with one paraprofessional saying, through tears, that her salary leaves her financially unable to support her family. A LPS grad and current parent liaison agreed saying that his current position does not offer adequate wages to support his financial obligations. In this line of discussion, a few educators said they often ask themselves the question "Why not go elsewhere?" with one noting that she could be paid $19,000 more to teach in Everett while another teacher who resides in Melrose wondered why she should continue to teach in this city versus another. Related to this sentiment, O'Neil called for more equitable wages and a fair contract for LTU educators. 

The open mic session lasted approximately an hour with calls for caps to classroom sizes/caseloads and fair wages common to the majority of speakers but, most notably, also respect. 

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Data: doe.mass.edu