By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Three School Committee members acknowledged during a Nov. 28 meeting that the district’s faculty and staff have a “culture problem” that needs to be addressed quickly.
In the wake of six residents blasting Superintendent Kristen Vogel and the School Committee for their handling of the staff morale problem and other issues during a Nov. 21 meeting that featured a large crowd, Vogel acknowledged last week that “there is still a lot of anger, frustration and concerns out there.”
Vogel scheduled an in-person forum to listen to parents and guardians’ concerns on Tuesday, Dec. 5, taking place between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at central office. The Villager learned after deadline that those meetings did not take place because Vogel has taken a leave of absence due to “medical reasons.”
After Vogel said during the Nov. 21 that school officials would be bringing “joy” to educators this December, she announced last week that she be holding raffles for teachers.
“The winners will have their duties covered by me on a day of their choosing,” said Vogel.
School Committee member Jamie Hayman said he has had “a number of conversations with teachers, administrators and former teachers to get a sense of what is going on.” He recalled that former School Committee member Salvatore Cammarata “used to say ‘when I hear it once, it’s a data point; when I hear it twice, it’s a line; and when I hear it three times, it’s a trend.’”
“What I am finding now qualifies as a trend,” said Hayman. “I think we do have a culture problem with our teachers in the schools. We have to fix the culture. I was surprised and honestly disappointed the more I peeled back the layers. I appreciate that we are giving time back and are canceling meetings and walkthroughs. All of that helps, but none of this works if our teachers are unhappy. Our teachers are really good at what they do. My job as a School Committee member is to make sure that we have the very best teachers that we can possibly have in the district, and our job is to clear a path so they can do what they do best. That is not happening right now.”
Hayman stressed that the district “can’t afford to lose great teachers.”
“We had teachers who gave up a Monday night to play in the Harlem Wizards basketball game,” said Hayman. “We need people like that who want to be seen in the community. We need teachers like Ms. Breen at the high school who talks so highly about all of the students who came through her class and are now teaching in Lynnfield. That is the culture that we need, and that is eroding right now.”
School Committee member Phil McQueen said he has had “a number of conversations” with teachers, parents and residents.
“I think we need to talk about these issues in public as a whole community and investigate what is really going on,” said McQueen. “We need to focus on facts and data, and we need to talk to and listen to all stakeholders so that we can do our best job for our most important community members who are our children. Teachers and children are any school system’s most valuable asset, and we need to be doing the best that we can for them. My reason for being on the School Committee is to ensure that we have the best school system and the best educational outcomes for all of our students. I think we need to dig deep, lean into conversations and need to find out what is really going on.”
School Committee Chair Rich Sjoberg reiterated that he is concerned about teachers’ concerns.
“This is a process that we are in the middle of working on,” said Sjoberg. “It truly saddened me to receive that letter and hear those words. We all have children in the district, and we fully appreciate everything that the school district has given to our individual families. Before the letter became public, we were already having those conversations and working on it. I was not aware about the teachers’ level of unhappiness.”
Sjoberg maintained that he and Vogel have been working to address the teachers’ concerns for the last “five or six weeks.”
“We are 100 percent focused on the teachers at this time,” said Sjoberg. “I just ask for the time to work with them and hear more from them.”
Sjoberg noted that the School Committee’s next meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 12 will have an extended public participation period. The meeting’s time and location were yet to be finalized when the Villager went to press.
Hayman said he wants “teachers to understand that we hear you and we get it.”
“It was absolutely a surprise, but we are going to make it better,” said Hayman. “We can’t fix what we don’t hear about. Know that if you come to us and talk to us, we will listen and keep it confidential. We want to understand what it will take to get it back to what you expect.”
School Committee Vice Chair Stacy Dahlstedt and School Committee member Kate DePrizio were not present at the meeting due to having prior commitments.
‘Dismissive’ behavior criticized
Russett Lane resident Jenny Sheehan criticized the School Committee and Vogel for their “lack of responsiveness when issues are brought forward.” She recalled that she has been concerned about the district’s rising class sizes at the elementary schools, but said her concerns have been “dismissed.”
“I asked specifically when and how the policy would be reviewed, and I received no response at all,” said Sheehan. “This process culminated earlier this month in your meeting when, in response to me alerting you being over the class size policy cap, your proposal was to change the policy to have no numbers and no cap at all. Essentially, I let you know that you were violating your policy and your solution is to get rid of it. I can’t think of anything more insulting to your constituents. Removing the numbers from your policy is removing all accountability.”
Sheehan said Vogel and the School Committee are “not in line with the will of the town.”
“You are not listening to feedback or welcoming collaboration,” said Sheehan. “Your communication is limited and constantly changing. And if you don’t listen to parents and teachers on a topic that is universally agreed upon as class size, how can we trust that you are listening to anything else?”
Nottingham Road resident Jenna Camann, who has a daughter in kindergarten at Huckleberry Hill School and a child in preschool, said she appreciated Hayman, McQueen and Sjoberg’s statements at the beginning of the meeting.
“I want to encourage you to walk the talk, not just talk the talk,” said Camann. “There has been a lack of and disrespectful communication with parents. My emails have gone completely unanswered and others got the same response, sometimes with incorrect salutations as you were in a hurry to copy-and-paste.”
Camann also blasted Vogel and the School Committee for providing “zero communication” about “well-liked” Huckleberry Hill Principal Melissa Wyland’s upcoming retirement at the end of June.
“Zero,” said Camann. “How do you send a district-wide newsletter following just one of four town principals announcing their retirement with no mention of gratitude or goodbye?”
Camann said school officials’ biggest problem is their “general attitude and apathy.”
“Step up, pay attention to the details, be respectful, listen, react, solve,” said Camann. “Our children are waiting for you.”
Bryant Street Kristen Elworthy said parents and guardians are upset because “they don’t feel heard or listened to” by school officials. She suggested that the School Committee take a page from the Andover School Committee’s playbook by holding monthly non-quorum listening sessions.
“There is no agenda or topics because there are only two members in attendance,” said Elworthy. “They can actually have a conversation with people.”
Elworthy also accused school officials of being “disingenuous” because they are now maintaining they are working on the teacher morale issues despite the fact they previously claimed that Lynnfield Public Schools did not have a problem.
Spearfields Lane resident Jim Crawford said school officials have been “dismissive” of residents’ concerns.
“The statement that started during the (Nov. 21) meeting was dismissive and took no accountability,” said Crawford. “The behavior and body language of the committee and superintendent was an embarrassment. Mrs. Vogel couldn’t bring herself to show the minimum amount of respect by looking at the speakers who were talking to her. Another committee member sat there with a smirk on his face. I would love to find out what he found to be so amusing. People are reaching out to the committee, but the committee has been unresponsive, unwilling to engage with opposing views and when they do answer, it is vague and condescending.”
Crawford said he started a change.org petition that is calling on the School Committee to “terminate” Vogel’s contract. The petition had 330 signatures as of Monday morning.
The School Committee scheduled a meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 6, where the school board will be entering into executive session to “discuss a complaint against a public officer, employee, staff member or individual” as allowed under state law.
“It is not anticipated that the School Committee will return to open session,” the meeting notice states.