To: Richard Isaac, Board of Trustees, Richard White, Board of Trustees, Melissa Watts, Board of Trustees, Amy Yeboah, Board of Trustees, and Barbara Guerrero, Board of Trustees
Khepera School Trustees: Work with Teachers
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After multiple extensions, stalled negotiations and now an expired contract, more than half the faculty at Khepera Charter School have been forced to leave their positions in search of consistent and secure employment. Our children had grown to love and trust these teachers, but now they are gone.
Board of trustees, please meet your staff at the table with meaningful proposals, and settle a contract that is good for students and fair to teachers without further delay. Allow the spirit of “umoja,” the Swahili word for “unity,” to guide you.
Why is this important?
I teach science at Khepera Charter School. We are a small charter, committed to serving our students and community with an African-centered curriculum and through the ideal of community involvement.
But it’s been 16 months since the teachers of Khepera began bargaining our second contract with the board of trustees at our school. Sixteen months!
The first one-year contract served our neighborhood charter school well. It gave teachers a voice in what happens in our classrooms and our school. It offered us the ability to advocate for our students without fear of reprisal or being fired. It allowed us to teach creatively, to go “off script,” to report problems and try to solve them, to collaborate.
Usually a second contract is no big deal. In such a small, idealistic community, a second contract often involves some tweaks and refinements, and maybe a small salary increase. The goal is always a better school environment for everyone. That’s why negotiations are called “good faith bargaining.” It happens every day in schools and school districts all around the country.
But constant unnecessary delays are becoming a pattern at Khepera. Before signing our first agreement in 2011, the board of trustees fought our 28-person staff for 18 bitter and tumultuous months. It cost them time and money that should have been spent on our students.
We can see the damage—and, more important, our students can feel it. Teacher turnover is a toxic factor for students and schools, including Khepera. Consistency is particularly crucial to our school and mission; our students come to school for continuity and reassurance along with great academics.
My colleagues and I are devoted to our students, our school and our mission. But half of the teaching staff at Khepera has left since June. These educators lost hope, and took their experience and aspirations elsewhere. Our students can’t afford to lose more good teachers. Let’s end the stalemate. Help us to settle a fair contract now—one that is good for students and fair to teachers.
In solidarity,
Kim ‘Mama Omotayo’ Johnson
Science Teacher
Khepera Charter School