The Belmont Education Association (BEA) voted to ratify contracts for all its bargaining units last week, bringing an end to nearly a year and a half of negotiations and to a work-to-rule job action which began in January.
For students at Belmont High School, the new agreements mark a renewal of hope for clubs and organizations, but some said the months-long action stalled their summer plans.
Under the BEA’s work-to-rule, teachers did not serve on unpaid groups or committees, write or commit to write letters of recommendation outside of the senior class, or lead unpaid clubs or student groups at the middle or high school level. That translated into an abrupt end to club meeting space and a void in letters of recommendation for summer programs and scholarships for many high school students.
Summer Impacts on Students
For many juniors, the spring was a flurry of applications for summer programs, internships, and scholarships, as well as the start of preparation for college applications, but those seeking a letter of recommendation from a teacher were out of luck.
Junior Jimbo Keneally received an email from one of his teachers the same night the BEA voted to ratify the contract, letting him know that she would be able to write the letter of recommendation he had requested. He told The Voice he was surprised — and relieved — but he still worried about the lingering impacts.
Junior Zoe Moy was applying to a summer internship and asked her biology teacher for a letter of recommendation that was required for the application. She was told due to the job action, she couldn’t receive a letter. Moy said her teacher added her to a list of students who had asked about a letter, with the hope that once the job action was lifted, the letters could be written. For Moy, however, the timing wasn’t right.
“I was confused. I was a little bit mortified too, because I had this whole [part of the application] already done and finished and detailed, and it just really messed up my whole resume, and unfortunately I couldn’t apply,” Moy said.
Other students, like junior Srishti Kar, had been able to get some of their summer letters before January. Under the work-to-rule stipulations, teachers were also able to submit letters previously written for students. The dilemma was frustrating, Kar admitted, but she said it was clear that saying “no” wasn’t easy for many educators.
“I knew that the fact that they couldn’t write recommendations, it was not their fault. I could see it in their eyes, ‘I really want to help you, but I can’t,’” said Kar.
Some juniors took a creative approach, asking community leaders or their supervisors at work for letters of recommendation when the application allowed. However, the fear that not having an educator recommendation would hinder their application lingered.
“I had to ask people who I normally wouldn’t be considering asking for recommendation letters, and …I started thinking, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be at a disadvantage compared to other kids in surrounding schools,’ and it started making me … overthink things,” Aram Parnagian said, adding that he didn’t apply to as many scholarship programs as he had initially planned to.
Though students said conversations with educators around letters and utilizing classrooms were awkward at best, the job action didn’t disrupt the bonds built between teachers and students. More often than not, students said it helped connect them to their teachers and see them in a different light.
“It’s important to recognize, especially in the time and place we live in, that a lot of people sacrifice for something they believe in,” said junior Omar Albarbari. “These teachers are sacrificing. It’s important to realize they’re not saying no because they don’t want to; they’re saying no because of external factors, and it shouldn’t have an effect on the relationship.”
Student Organizations Excited for New Year
Without access to a teacher’s classroom, clubs like the Climate Action Club, run by Kar, had to fight for a table in the high school library before or after school. Others, like the Belmont Aerospace Student Society (BASS), began meeting in the evening at its coach’s house.
“It really does make a difference, having that classroom space,” Kar said. Without a dedicated space, it was harder to organize and recruit new students to join.
BASS was gearing up for its regional and national drone flying competitions, but without being able to meet during the day, finding time to fly became an added challenge, said senior Harry Coldwell.
“It happened kind of in the middle of the year and, as a result, we lost a lot of new members,” Coldwell said. “[Meeting at night] made it a lot harder for the club in general. In terms of the competition itself, we’re meeting at a time when it’s harder to fly because it gets dark out, especially in the winter.”
With the seniors graduating, BASS will have three members remaining, but Coldwell added that they are hopeful for recruitment come the fall. Other clubs, like the Armenian Club run by Parnagian, had to push back events that were planned for the spring, but are excited to hit the ground running.
“I feel hopeful, especially for the Armenian club. We’ve had a very slow year, because we haven’t had a lot of school resources,” Parnagian said. “We had a lot of big plans for last year, but now we’re gonna have to shift them over to next year, so we’re just hopeful for a better school year.”
Students Reflect on Work-to-Rule
As the school year comes to an end, rising seniors said the effects of work-to-rule won’t be forgotten immediately.
“Even though the teachers were suffering, the students also suffered,” Moy said. Some students expressed concern that with just three weeks until the last day of school, students may overwhelm teachers with requests or be stuck on who to ask to begin with.
For others, the months of limbo led to questioning of Belmont’s school leadership.
“For a school that prides itself on having such great education, such great resources, why do we do this to our teachers who help us learn and help us reach our goals?” Parnagian said.
The contracts for the BEA include a 2.3% cost-of-living adjustment and paid parental leave. Throughout negotiations, school leaders emphasized financial constraints and the need to balance educator demands, student needs and taxpayers’ checkbooks.
However, as school districts across the state continue to grapple with budget deficits and the potential for significant cuts and layoffs, students said keeping the next generation at the top of mind should be a priority for town leaders.
“It’s not fair for us at all to have to go through this, because of conflict with the people who are supposed to help us,” said Albarbari. “I think in the future, if something like this happens again, we should be rethinking about how … actions are taken.”