I want to announce to those who might not know that the Wildflower charter school application was rejected by Education Commissioner Riley and removed from consideration by the Board of Education. This is a tremendous victory for all the children of Haverhill and our local District-managed education. The members of the HEA with their member-organized actions stood up to the deep pockets of Wildflower’s corporate backers and won. I want to thank all those who participated in the Wildflower Charter actions. As union members, we worked together to protect the educational human rights of all Haverhill children.
The HEA has achieved so much this last six months: an educator march to city hall that led to a settled contract; a crumbling school spotlight campaign that led to significant increase in local city taxes and emphasis on school repair; then the biggest win of the year thus far: the overturn of the proposed Wildflower charter school. To paraphrase a quote from the MTA: “When we fight, we can win.”