This letter may be an odd one because, in a city constantly advocating for more money for schools, I am ardently requesting the mayor take $100,000 away from us.

Northampton was awarded the PRISM-III grant in 2025, which splits the cost of a large curriculum purchase with the city. If we pay $100,000, DESE will cover the rest. This grant is a rarity — money for secondary schools! — and DESE seems anxious to fulfill the terms quickly, before federal money dries up. This sense of urgency, this steal of a deal, has been the primary argument to support using $100,000 of the city’s money. Please consider using that money to repair a fire truck or fill pot holes instead.

A purchased curriculum is fantastic for a large city, with scores of teachers to coordinate, especially when those teachers are inexperienced or juggling multiple subjects. That’s not JFK. I am one of three seventh grade ELA teachers, and three eighth grade ELA teachers; we don’t even fill an entire table when we have department meetings. Between the five of us, we are all subject specialists, each with a master’s degree and at least 10 years of experience.

There is money to choose a new curriculum, but no proof that choosing a new curriculum actually serves our students, especially our neediest groups. DESE’s own website clarifies that there is no evidence of impact on student learning for any of the curricula we are allowed to choose from.

My motivations for writing this letter are indeed selfish: I love my job, and I particularly love the creativity and collaboration that comes with designing a unit to address student needs and capture middle schoolers’ interests. I can’t wrap my mind around the short-sightedness of chasing passionate and qualified teachers out of the district, just because the state will cover half of a big textbook purchase. We genuinely believe we can provide a better outcome, for dramatically less money. We’re asking for time, and trust. Please don’t throw out everything we’ve built together, just because there’s a discount available.

Jenna Idenward, JFK Middle School 7/8 ELA teacher, dept. chair

Belchertown