Concord Parents, Teachers Rally ‘Round Embattled CTA President

Dozens of Concord parents and teachers stayed after school on Tuesday, April 30, in a show of support for Merrie Najimy, the Concord Teachers Association president and third-grade teacher at Thoreau School who has allegedly been told her principal will not be recommending her rehire next year.

The rally took place outside of the Ripley Administration Building, a hastily organized gathering called by the CTA after Najimy learned Tuesday morning she will not get a recommendation from Thoreau Principal Kelly Clough.

Najimy told the crowd of about 50 that her situation is indicative of larger problems within the district, where teachers feel there is a top-down approach and things are done to them, not with them.

“We are at a point where we have to understand that what happened to me is only a symptom of this administration’s rule,” she said. “We have not been treated with dignity; none of us. We have been disregarded and disrespected, and only we can claim that back. This is about silencing the last vestige of the voices of the teachers.”

For more of Najimy’s remarks, check out the video posted above.

News of Najimy’s evaluation Tuesday morning spread quickly via email, texts, lists and social media.

A small group of parents stood held signs outside Thoreau School at dismissal and held signs saying they support all teachers – not just Najimy, who has been about vocal around climate concerns at Thoreau School and across the district as a whole.  The group grew larger as it joined members of the CTA and Concord-Carlisle Teachers associations at Ripley. Members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association were here as well, and pledged to support Najimy through the next stages.

“For a community like Concord to be in a position like this is just wrong and needs to be righted,” said Mark Sheehan, director of affiliate services for the MTA. “To be in a position where you feel any kind of fear is wrong.”

Najimy has not been fired. Her principal’s recommendation comes first, and then it goes to Superintendent of Schools Diana Rigby for the final decision. Rigby declined to comment on specifics of Najimy’s evaluation, saying it was a personnel matter.

Addressing the crowd Tuesday, Matt Goldberg, president of the CCTA, said educators have to work together to make sure Najimy’s status in professional limbo does not break the spirit of the town’s teachers.

“This is not a good day for us,” said Goldberg. “It puts in front of our faces what we’ve feared – that our voices don’t matter all that much.”

Context, Conversation

Concerns about climate within the Concord schools and dissatisfaction with administrators have been ongoing issues over the past few years, with a handful of high profile examples.

Last spring, the results from the state’s TELL Mass (teaching, empowering, leading and learning) showed teachers in Concord were unhappy. In the summer, when the state suspended funding for the Concord-Carlisle High School building project, many residents spoke of distrust in school leaders. Last week, Town Meeting voted down a petitioner's article asking the School Committee to address the "top-down approach" and alleged financial mismagement within the schools. And that's not even touching school transportation issues.

And on Tuesday, as teachers and parents stood together outside Ripley, a “Climate Committee” comprised of School Committee members, administrators and teachers that came together to study the TELL results, was meeting inside.

Najimy led supporters and sign-holders inside and took her seat at the table, as she’s a member of the Climate Committee.

Rigby stepped into the hallway to speak with parents and teachers, who implored the superintendent to do something to repair souring relationships and restore faith in the schools.

Teachers said they’ve had opportunities to air grievances, but don’t feel as though anything has been done to suggest they have been heard.

Parents called the problems of late a “black eye on Concord” and said they’re upsetting enough that some are looking to move into different districts – particularly out of the Thoreau neighborhoods.

Rigby said she’ll take the feedback and discuss it with her administrative team. It’s possible some the discussion could be covered in one of the superintendent’s upcoming reports to the school committee, she said.