Here to Stay & Prouder than Ever!
Here to Stay & Prouder than Ever!
Greetings,
More than five million people marched on Saturday declaring, as we did 250 years ago, that there would be “No Kings” in the United States. And in Boston, a hearty band of 50 MTA members, accompanied by a school bus festooned in rainbow colors, declared their pride with the simple message: “Here to Stay.”
It is one of the highlights of the year to stand behind the MTA pride banner and feel the appreciation for educators standing up for our members, our students and the central premise of public education: We cherish every student for exactly who they are.
Every time I pass by the Boston Public Library – one of our finest public buildings – I look up and admire the line on the Boylston Street frieze: “The Commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty.” But my favorite line has been the small inscription over the main entrance: “Free to All.” In a time when access to books was often limited to those who could buy books or pay to be part of a subscription library, a statement that entry to the library and the knowledge in the books inside was free, was significant. But on Saturday, as we joined a million people fighting against tyranny and for LGBTQ+ rights, I read the phrase with an emphasis on the “All.”
All the people, and all the knowledge, without limitation and without censorship.
Now more than ever, we will stand for free access to knowledge, to free speech, and to free expression of the full selves of our students and members.
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
The Big, Ugly, Immoral Budget Bill
Our colleagues at MassBudget have shared an excellent report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities about what the Republican budget would do to Massachusetts. We urge you to read it.
Bring Leonardo Home
When: Friday, June 20, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Ferryway School to Lincoln Park, Malden
Please show support for Heitor Soares, his family, friends and classmates in a march to raise support and awareness of his father’s plight and of many other residents of Massachusetts being targeted by federal immigration enforcement. The march will follow the same path as Leonardo Soares, Heitor’s father, after he dropped his younger son off at school. Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole, Mandarin and ASL will be provided. If you cannot attend, please send a letter through the link to elected officials.
Come Celebrate Juneteenth With MTA
When: Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: Fuller Middle School, Framingham
All members and their families are invited to celebrate Juneteenth with the MTA. The Ethnically Marginalized Affairs Committee has organized a family-friendly event with the theme “Literacy is Liberation.” The 4th annual celebration will include storytelling by Len Cabral, drumming by Sidy Maïga and sounds of the African diaspora by DJ Lady Ly. There will be breakfast from Neighborhood Kitchen, desserts by Gerly’s Ice Cream, as well as a book swap, family activities and more. On-site registration is available!
Join the MTA/AFT RetirementPlus Lobby Day
When: Wednesday, June 25, 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Where: Massachusetts State House
Join MTA RetirementPlus advocates at the AFT Lobby Day as we lobby for a fair fix to RetirementPlus in the FY26 budget and through the passage of H.2932 and S.1884. Visit massteacher.org/retirementplus to sign up for advocacy day, read the letter to legislators signed by 219 MTA, AFT-Mass and BTU local presidents, and learn more about MTA advocacy around RetirementPlus. For more information or questions, email retirementplus@massteacher.org.
MTA Grassroots is Seeking a Student Intern Applicants applying for this student internship for the 2025-2026 academic year must be currently enrolled at a Massachusetts public college or university and/or be an active Student Education Association of Massachusetts member. The application is now open.
Don’t Forget to Register: MTA Summer Conference 2025
Where: UMass Amherst
When: July 27-30
Summer Conference is FREE for all members, and housing and meals are available at low rates. Once again, we are pleased to invite Education Support Professionals and adjunct faculty to attend with free meals and housing. Participants in the New Member Program, Next Generation Leadership and New Presidents Academy also receive free meals and housing. The Summer Conference programming, including all workshops and fun social events, is free for all members but you must register by July 10. Register today!
MTA Member Art Show at Summer Conference
When: July 27
Where: UMass Amherst
We invite all members to submit artwork for the first MTA Member Art Show taking place at Summer Conference. We are happy to feature any member’s artwork, but are especially interested in pieces that reflect the conference’s theme of “Now More Than Ever,” including photographs and rally signs from strikes and other actions.
NEW! MTA Benefits Program – Professional Development Graduate Courses
MTA Benefits has partnered with Virtual Education Software and Lake Superior State University to offer MTA members up to nine semester hours of graduate (transcript) credit for $275! Members may purchase this annual subscription and access more than 35 online graduate education courses with no additional costs. Please check with your school district and/or state licensing agency to verify that these course offerings will meet your district and/or state requirements for salary advancement and/or state certificate relicensure. Visit the MTA Benefits website to learn more.
Political Education
Sunday was the 32nd anniversary of the landmark decision in McDuffy v. Secretary of the Executive Office of Education, in which the Supreme Judicial Court found, on June 15, 1993, that in failing to adequately provide funding for public schools, the Commonwealth was in violation of our state Constitution, the oldest in the country and the model for the federal Constitution. The result was the 1993 Education Reform Act, which created a formula that would provide needed funds for public schools. (It also brought us the MCAS and charter schools). When we fight for better funding from the state, and win improvements in the funding formula, as we did with the Student Opportunity Act, we are building on what was won in the McDuffy suit, one that MTA was centrally involved with as a leader in the Council for Fair School Finance.
School is out this week for many of you. But, yes, even I am going to suggest that you read the legal decision, because it is a history capsule of support for school funding in the Commonwealth. And while you are at it, read Chapter 5, Section 2 of our state Constitution and admire John Adams’ eloquence in laying out the “duty” to “cherish … the public schools and grammar schools in the towns.”
MTA History Project
Rubella. Tetanus. Diphtheria. Graveyards from prior centuries are filled with children who died of these and other infectious diseases that are now preventable thanks to vaccines. Schools played an important role. In 1827, Boston became the first city in the country to require children entering school to be vaccinated against smallpox.
In the 1950s, parents were terrified of polio. The MTA supported vaccinating children at school. A 1954 article published in The Massachusetts Teacher concluded, “The vaccinations became a matter of school routine and, together, youngsters went through them like little troopers.” Today, polio has been eradicated in all but two countries.
Vaccines are no longer administered through schools, but MTA members still play an important role in teaching students how to distinguish anecdotes and conspiracy theories from scientific evidence.
Go to massteacher.org/history to read more about MTA’s history.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb