In their own words...

Sally Suomala, kindergarten teacher, Lynch School

Sally lives in Springfield. Her children went to school here. Her daughter-in-law teaches here. "And I hope my grandchild will go to school in Springfield," she said.

Sally sees plummeting teacher morale as a major problem. "We have to instill a spirit of hope," she said. "We have to believe that if we stick together we can get through this and restore our school system to what it used to be."

Sally remembers what the system used to be. "We moved here in 1978," she said, "because we wanted to live where our children could walk to school.

"We wanted schools that provided everything," she continued. "Springfield schools were very highly rated. My kids had opportunities that kids don’t have now, like elementary gifted and talented programs. Art and music programs are now down to the bare bones. In Springfield, kids today just don’t have a full, well-rounded program."

Sally serves as a mentor to student teachers from the University of Massachusetts and finds it increasingly difficult "to encourage them to apply for jobs in Springfield."
"I struggle to keep a positive outlook," Sally said, "but they see what’s happening and hear what’s said in the teachers’ room."

Sally also struggles to provide her students with everything from arts and crafts supplies to books, spending between $2,000 and $3,000 of her own money each year.

"My husband has a conniption when he adds up what I spend at tax time," she said. But she keeps spending and keeps trying to instill a "spirit of hope" in those around her.

"I love teaching," she added; "The children are what keep me going."

Debra Linder, HIgh School of Science and Technology

Debra Lindner has been teaching for 27 years and has no intention of leaving just yet. She really enjoys teaching her “city kids” at the Springfield High School of Science and Technology. But lack of funding and overcrowding have been a challenge.

Lindner started off this school year with 48 high school juniors in one class. Fifteen of them were inclusion kids with special needs. She only had 25 seats in her room.

“The only good thing about it was that no one was late for class,” Lindner quipped. “They knew if they came late, they wouldn’t get a seat.”

That lasted for two-and-a-half months. “We made the best of a bad situation,” she said, “but we could get very little done.”

In mid-November, when another section was added, Lindner’s class sizes dropped, but not far enough. She still has several with more than 30 students, including an honors English class with 33 students.

“With this many in an honors class, I feel like I can’t do what I need to do to properly prepare these students for college,” Lindner said. “These kids are above-average and want to go to the next level.”

Rebecca Arce, a 16-year-old student in that honors English class, said that the number of students does pose a problem.

“All my classes are huge. I’m in all honors and AP, and they all have 25 to 30 or more students,” she said. “It’s getting worse and worse.”

Stephanie Wright, sitting next to her, said that all her classes are big, as well. “You don’t get the one-on-one attention that you need,” she said.

Arce said she’s not sure what she wants to do for a living, but she loves politics and may consider law school. Wright hopes to become a nurse.

Lindner is worried that budget cuts in Springfield are making it harder for her students to realize their dreams.

“We’re cheating our kids,” she said. “This year, the SATs have an essay portion. They should be doing two or three essays a week to prepare for that, but there isn’t enough time to correct all those papers.”

According to Lindner, class sizes at her school tend to be smaller in grades 9 and 10 so that students can prepare to pass the MCAS tests.

“The problem is, in grades 11 and 12, we’re trying to prepare them for college. They need the extra help, too,” she said.

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