Welcome Back Educators 2023

Welcome back to all returning educators and welcome to our hundreds of new educators! For those who may not know who I am, my name is Tracy Little-Sasanecki, and I’m the SEA President. I have been in this position for 2 years, after serving as a Professional School Counselor in the District for 25 years. I was re-elected to serve another term last spring, I’m extremely grateful to be able to continue our work of building a strong collective voice, fighting for the working conditions we all deserve.

I hope that many of you took some personal time to rejuvenate this summer, returning refreshed as we embark upon the new school year.

We have a lot of work to accomplish this year and we’ll need our members to grab a hold and come together with our hands, feet, and hearts to support the work of our union.

The union is not an “I,” it is a “we.” The SEA president does not work in isolation; we have an elected Executive Board consisting of eleven members that meets twice a month and a combined Executive and Legislative board that meets monthly. The Legislative Board consists of the building reps from each building, and it is where we address issues of concern and develop solutions to the challenges we face. Building reps should be having monthly “10 Minute Union Meetings” to hear your concerns to bring to the Legislative Board meetings and to bring information back from those meetings.

There are many initiatives that we will be working on based on issues raised by our members. Some are issues that can be resolved quickly, and some are long term. Those issues include:

• Dealing with Pre-K issues that are the unintended consequences of moving to Universal Pre-K.
• Setting up a health and safety committee to ensure we have healthy schools and safe working conditions.
• Bullying principals who cause a school climate and culture that is harmful to educators, and the education process in their schools.
• A district wide environment that often does not support LGBTQIA+ members or members of color.
• PD that does not meet the needs of educators.
• Too much time on testing.
• Pushing the district to put air conditioning in all buildings.

We have had a Diversity Inclusion Racial Equity grant from the MTA that funds one of our members as a fulltime release SEA staff member as a social justice organizer. We are currently seeking other funding sources to maintain this movement. We believe that it’s important for our students have a sense of belonging in our schools and classrooms. It is only, we, the educators in the schools, who can ensure that their experiences are ones in which we celebrate and uplift our diversity, letting them know that SPS is where they belong.

The district schools will be going into bargaining this year and we are currently selecting a bargaining team from those who have stated an interest. There will be many opportunities for members to be involved in the bargaining process this year – any member can attend bargaining sessions as a silent representative, each district school will need to have a cadre of members who will communicate to their colleagues and provide feedback about what is going on at the bargaining table. In addition, all members are welcome to join the bargaining strategy team that will be developing opportunities or actions members can take to support the team as they work to bargain the contract, we all deserve. Contact the union office if you are interested in any of these ways to be involved. You can email the office at contact@seateachers.com.

We welcome our new educators and veteran educators to our annual gathering @ the Elks on Tiffany St. September 21st 3pm-8pm, all are invited, and this is a free event, please RSVP contact@seateachers.com

Upcoming Events:

• September 13^th 4:15 – 5:15 - Bargaining strategy meeting at Boland School
• September 14^th 4:15-5:45 - SEA Legislative Board (for Building Reps) Meeting on Zoom
• September 21^st 3:30-7pm - SEA Fall Gathering -Families Welcome, free – Elks Lodge Pavilion 440 Tiffany St. - free food, children’s games, Tools4Teachers Raffle, DJ, cash bar. See our Facebook page for more information.              
• September 25^th 4:15-5:45 ALANA Committee meeting on Zoom
• September 28^th 5pm – deadline for letters of interest for the treasurer’s position
• September into October – union meetings in each building

ALANA - SEA’s African, Latino, Asian, Native, American Committee

 In 2017, the Massachusetts Teachers Association assigned a staff person to work on organizing educators of color in a number of locals across the state, including Springfield. One on one conversations occurred with members of color across the district to develop a core team. This team developed the following mission and vision:

Mission: to create a supportive, dynamic, and collective Union focused on building a diverse and culturally proficient environment for African, Latino, Asian, Native, American Educators in Springfield Public Schools while empowering ALANA Educators;” and A vision built around four pillars of Cultural competence, Transparency in Hiring, Social Justice, and Restorative Practices.

ALANA members and their allies also recognize the importance for students of color having educators of color. They believe school staffing, resources and curriculum must represent the rich diversity of our community to create the schools our students deserve.

ALANA members recognize that creating a culturally proficient environment that supports and empowers all educators, but especially educators of color who have been historically overlooked and underserved, will help not only educators, but also the children and community of Springfield.



ALANA Committee members are committed to building a strong union…

• ALANA educators are actively involved in the SEA as Building Reps, serving on Building-based Action Teams (B-BAT’s), serving on School-based DIRE Teams, and volunteering on Boards and Committees.
• ALANA educators and allies are engaged in MTA Union Skill workshops & conferences to become strong contract negotiators, grievance handlers, and leaders.
• ALANA educators and allies are educating members to stand united.

Be a part of the change that will create the schools our staff and students deserve. Please consider joining the ALANA meeting via Zoom on September 25 @4:15 and every 4^th Monday. Please contact us at: contact@seateachers.com for the link.

Interim Treasurer Position is now open for qualified applicants.

Our current and recently re-elected treasurer Andrew Wilkins has decided to step down due to unforeseen circumstances. We want to personally thank him for his many years of service and dedication in maintaining our finances in collaboration with our bookkeeper. We wish Andrew well in his future endeavors.

We are now seeking letters of interest from qualified applicants that includes your qualifications and experience in financial management.

An outline of the duties and responsibilities of the treasurer can be found here. This position includes a fiduciary responsibility to maintain accurate records and meet deadlines.

The average weekly time is 7-9 hours during the academic year and up to 105 hours in the summer. The summer hours may also include general office coverage. There is a set stipend for the academic year and the summer stipend is based on the treasurer’s per-diem rate.

Please send in your letter of interest by September 28^th at 5pm to contact@seateachers.com

Farewell to Peter Reese

Peter is retiring on September 30^th.

Peter, you have brought relief and smiles to many SEA members over the years. For those thousands who you have represented in disciplinary meetings, grievances, and arbitrations, argued their cases with Human Resources and Payroll and gotten relief for, hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed. Many of us will miss your witty charm in addressing issues and concerns.

We want to express our sincere thanks for a job well done! We hope that you will take the well-deserved time and do something fun, exciting, and new.

 It is with great sadness that we have to say farewell. We wish you well and hope that all your dreams come true!! Thank you!!

Welcome Michael P. Przybylek, SEA Professional Public Relations

Michel Przybylek has been hired to take over Pater’s role as the SEA Professional Relations Associate. Michael comes to the SEA as an experienced educator and union representative. As Michael says his main mission will be “to continue the work of transforming our union by empowering educators’ collective voice in the process of protecting members’ rights under the contract and improving our working conditions.”



Michael began his career in Orlando, Florida in 2012, and in his first year became a union rep where his focus was to inform fellow members about actions and encourage them to join the union. His passion for worker’s rights and power did not stop when he left Florida and was hired in 2016, to teach in an Empowerment Zone school. While teaching Social Studies at Kiley and Impact Prep, he continued representing members with enthusiasm. He brings a strong determination to engage our members in the fight. Mike is a strong advocate for educators. He is committed to ensuring educators are treated fairly and vows to protect their rights under the law and our collective bargaining agreements with the District and Empowerment Zone.

He comes to the team with eagerness to “get into every building” to meet and greet each of you. His skills and expertise in contract, labor law’ and grievance knowledge is exceptional. We got the right one!! Help me in welcoming him to the staff team of the SEA!!