To The Editor,

During this time of budget constraints, I first want to thank every involved parent and community member for their advocacy and, second, I want to address community questions around math vs. DEI, math vs. sustainability, math vs. IEP functioning and math vs. mental health.

DEI work and math are not an either/or proposition for NPS. We can and should have both.

My friends, for all the students who need access to the proposed math curriculum we need MORE DEI and sustainability work, together with better Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and mental health work. For without feeling safe in their community and within themselves, students cannot learn. The Venn diagram overlaps for students who are nihilistic about the planet’s survival and great at math, and for students who are on an IEP and advanced in math. These are the same student populations.

The current proposed either/or solution reflects short-term thinking. If we get $1 million for the math curriculum this year by cutting these four positions, how will we fund it next year? You can only throw over DEI, sustainability, mental health and support for behavior analysts (BCBAs) once. And while it looks like some of those will be partially saved, what’s the option for next year, or the year after that?

Let’s work together to serve our community; let’s find the money for these initiatives so that we can truly be the Newton we want to call home.

Michele Pfannenstiel, DVM
Newtonville