Year-long contract campaign involving hundreds of educators, caregivers, and students leads to greater investment in Somerville Public Schools and increased supports for the city’s most vulnerable students and educators

On June 23, the Somerville Educators Union ratified three new contracts which represent a huge step forward in reifying community values of inclusivity, accessibility, and educational equity. The union’s priorities and campaign included caregivers and community members; several caregivers served as silent bargaining representatives on the union’s bargaining team throughout the process, and union leaders hosted biweekly office hours for community members and organizations to learn about the bargaining process. These contract wins reflect a ten-month effort by educators, students, families, and community members to call upon Mayor Katjana Ballantyne to use the city’s reserves to fund its schools. 

With support from the Somerville School Committee, the Somerville City Council, and the Somerville Public Schools district leadership, additional millions of dollars were added to the school budget for FY2026, which begins to correct for decades of under-investment in Somerville Public Schools and to put in place the supports Somerville students deserve. Rooted in the union’s belief that working conditions and learning conditions are inextricably linked, many of the new contracts’ terms uplift both educators and students. 

“Smaller caseloads for special education providers and social emotional educators will mean more protections for student service delivery; codified best practices for reading and math interventions will maximize these programs’ successes; a co-teaching pilot in two of the district’s highest-priority grade bands will inform wider implementation of inclusion models in all schools in the 2026-2027 school year and beyond benefiting students across the District with true co teaching,” said Dayshawn Simmons, president of the Somerville Educators Union. “Twelve weeks of employer-paid parental leave is the highest of any public school educators in the state, and will mean educators do not have to choose between being home with new children, being able to take time when those children get sick, or leaving the district. What I’m most proud of–a $50,000 minimum salary for paraprofessionals in Somerville–sets a new standard for the state.”

“In the face of federal attacks on immigrants, trans people, and people of color, the union made a conscious choice to codify protection in our contract for our most vulnerable educators and students,” said Jenna DiNovis, one of the chairs of the Contract Action Team. “We won protections for reproductive and gender affirming healthcare, clear requirements to abide by educators’ chosen names, and new commitments to hire educators of color. That will mean that Somerville students will be able to see educators who are reflective of their identity, a practice proven to help students thrive. We also fought for and won protections for immigrant educators and students, including clear rules that the district will only comply with federal immigration authorities when required explicitly by law. We made a commitment to educate and support every student regardless of race or national origin. Everywhere you look in this contract you see that educators were fighting for their students and this entire city–and we won.”

“A $50,000 minimum salary for paraprofessionals is a good start to valuing what we do in this district and starting to show what our students are worth,” said Daphnee Balan, a paraprofessional and bargaining team member. “Working in education shouldn’t leave you in poverty. For many of our paraprofessionals this raise will be life-changing. I asked Somerville to lead the way, and it is. And it’s important to name, $50,000 a year is still not enough to live in Somerville or any of the surrounding towns.”

In partnership with neighboring unions in Belmont, Cambridge, Lexington, Arlington, and Watertown, the Somerville Educators Union has set out to improve the working conditions for educators and the learning conditions for students in the metro Boston area. This regional bargaining council, called BCLAWS, has set visionary goals for minimum teacher and paraprofessional salaries, smaller class sizes and caseloads, and increased leave and health insurance benefits. “Labor solidarity builds our power at our respective bargaining tables, and we support our union siblings in Belmont, who are entering the fall without a contract, and in Cambridge, who just launched their contract campaign,” said Megan Brady, the membership chair for the Somerville Educators Union. “We also know that these regional networks and community organizing efforts are foundational to the work ahead of protecting and improving public education at the state and federal levels.”

– Somerville Educators Union