The Mayor wants to keep starting pay for Paras at $22k/ year.

This is from a letter in support of teachers that I along with other parents signed when people were asking for signatures:

Standard Salary Increase - A fair salary increase of 3-3-3 or 5-2-2 over the next three years will continue to support Woburn as a top City for people and businesses to invest in, and simultaneously support and maintain the City’s Moody’s AAA Bond rating. Neighboring towns are offering teachers better salaries, health insurance and even inflation adjustments. Woburn needs to maintain a strong competitive edge, to retain top talent, especially as the more senior teachers begin to retire. The business continuity of Woburn is dependent upon a strong educational system. Families choose to stay, or move depending on the educational opportunities. Businesses take in a City’s educational offerings when determining what locations to operate out of. Fiscally sound businesses, who are looking to retain top talent, do not want to open up locations in a place with poor educational opportunities. One only needs to speak to local HR recruiters for the top employers in our state, to see where they would recommend their talent purchases a home.

Smaller Classroom Sizes - This past year, during the middle of the school year, the Malcolm White Elementary School had to have the Fifth Grade Classes split up and re-organized from two to three classrooms. Parents/Caregivers feel as if there are additional education consequences from this, especially after the challenges of the past two years. Since the 1980s, multiple studies, including those conducted by the Brookings Institute and AASA, have shown that a smaller class size is incredibly beneficial to both students and faculty, with an average recommendation of 1:15 student to teacher ratio.

PE Twice a Week for K-5th Graders - Younger kids need to move, not only for their physical health but mental health too. There is one day a week in the Elementary School’s schedules where no specials occur, this would be the perfect opportunity to add in additional physical education for the children

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Support - The essential resources needed to address the social and emotional needs of the students must be the highest priority. Along with the unprecedented stress caused by the Pandemic, many students also face additional challenges. For example, at the Malcolm White in 2021, 24.7% of the student population did not have English as their first language, and 16.8% were English Language Learners. This is similar for other schools within the City, and highlights a large student population dealing with multiple stressors. By better supporting the teachers (and thus the students), it will benefit the City through higher test scores and graduation rates.

The rest is just back and forth between WTA and Mayor. The boys & girls club said they’ll be open Monday if school closes.