Members of the Wellesley Educators Association (WEA) staged a walk-in on Friday, Nov. 18 at each of the town’s six elementary schools, the middle school, and the high school in a show of solidarity amid stalled contract negotiations. Educators have been working without a contract since July 1, 2022.

Wellesley Education Association, Sprague School — Wellesley Education Association members in front of Sprague Elementary School. Photo credit: WEA

In a statement, the WEA through the organization’s president Kyle Gekopi said, “..educators are unified in ensuring that instructional support professionals are fairly paid and that elementary educators are not subjected to inequitable working conditions.”

The WEA says the Wellesley School Committee has taken a dismissive approach to addressing educators’ concerns and their top five issues. Educators, who took to TikTok and other social media platforms to amplify their message, are calling their platform for contract bargaining “Fair 5 Now,” which states:

· All educators deserve adequate time to prepare for all students

· All educators deserve fair compensation and living wages

· All educators deserve access to sufficient parental leave

· All educators deserve due process

· All students deserve full-time instructors for art, music, phys ed, and full-time librarians

“We prefer to use the term ‘educators’ because the professionals who work with students are teachers, of course, but include many others,” such as nurses, school librarians, teaching assistants and paraprofessionals, secretaries, receptionists, and department assistants, and others, Gekopi said. “We haven’t been met with any movement on these five issues.”

In response to the walk-in, the Wellesley School Committee issued a prepared statement that said, “We want to assure the community that reaching an agreement that is fair and equitable to our educators and staff while working within the budget parameters set by the Town, Select Board, and Town Meeting is a top priority for the School Committee.The Wellesley School Committee and District leaders deeply value the steadfast and ongoing dedication of our teachers and staff. They are the backbone of our school district, the frontline members of our team who we know work every day to deliver an excellent education to all Wellesley students at all grade levels. The Wellesley Educators Association (WEA) and School Committee negotiating teams have had many productive conversations since February, and have already reached agreement on several key items that we believe will improve the lives of our staff and provide them with deeper support. Given our shared goal of providing the best education possible to all students in our district, we have confidence that we can reach agreement with the WEA in a mutually supportive and respectful manner.”