Teachers and community members praise district support staff; committee recognizes multiple retirements

At the April 22 meeting, several teachers spoke during the public comment period urging the school committee to adopt a contract that values support staff's contributions to daily school operations.

Tracy Nangle, a teacher at North Smithfield who later was listed among retirees at the meeting, told the committee support staff and custodial employees keep facilities functioning and create a welcoming environment for students and families. "They are critical to the smooth running of our schools," Nangle said.

Kathleen Fagan, a health and physical education teacher at the middle school, and Jamie Austin, a special education teacher at NSES, also described instructional assistants, custodians and office personnel as essential to student support, classroom functioning and school safety. Austin described reliance on instructional assistants for students with significant support needs and said, "I personally could not run my classroom without them." The remarks were delivered as public comment; no formal committee action on the contract occurred at that time.

Later in the meeting the superintendent and committee recognized several longtime staff members who are retiring, naming Tracy Nangle (hired 02/2008), Gail O'Keefe (hired 02/2001), Colleen Carr (hired 02/2001) and Kelly Huback (hired 02/2007). The superintendent read service summaries for each and noted their years of service and roles in curriculum, literacy and science programs. Committee members expressed appreciation for the retirees' combined decades of service.