SEA advocates for students, educators of color

By: MTA Staff

Published: December 2023

Theresa Bryant, left, the Springfield Education Association’s racial justice organizer, and SEA President Tracy Little-Sasanecki, right, have been leaders in an effort to recruit more educators of color to Springfield schools. Photo by Scott McLennan

A top-down, administrator-driven approach to addressing issues of racial equity within the public schools of Springfield just wasn’t working in the eyes of the Springfield Education Association.

And the union wasn’t about to let years of difficult organizing work around racial justice fall apart because school and city administrators lacked a similar bold vision and appetite for authentic change.

"We knew we wanted something that was educator-led and ultimately involved the whole community," said Theresa Bryant, an SEA member who took on the role of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Social Justice Organizer.

Bryant is developing Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity (DIRE) teams in individual Springfield schools, building on an initiative rooted in the 2017 formation of ALANA – a group within SEA specifically for educators who identify as African, Latino, Asian and Native American, and their allies. ALANA led the call for greater racial and ethnic diversity within Springfield’s teaching force as well as greater supports for students of color.

But over time, ALANA members grew frustrated with the types of trainings and programs that the district was crafting to address the need for racial justice in Springfield’s schools. SEA President Tracy Little-Sasanecki called them "top down" and described them as lacking.

So ALANA structured its own trainings, geared toward identifying implicit biases, addressing race-based micro-aggressions and finding ways to build better working relationships among educators, as well as between students and educators. All of these efforts placed race in the foreground.

The SEA applied for an MTA Public Relations/Organizing grant to enable it to hire a full-time racial justice organizer who could bridge the work of educators, the administration and the community.

Bryant, a veteran school counselor, got the job and has been working since the summer to set up DIRE teams in schools.

SEA’s racial justice work is also getting support from the Pioneer Valley Project in Springfield, which is partnering with the union to engage the community.

Bryant said that it is crucial to have a comprehensive approach to dismantling systemic racism, otherwise there will always be elements undermining the work.

Two main goals now, she said, are to increase the number of educators of color in Springfield’s public schools and to make sure that students have the supports they need and that they feel supported.

"When students see the DIRE teams working in their schools, they’ll know that there are people who are there that support them," Bryant said. "We want student-led social justice teams to form too."

Bryant and Little-Sasanecki criticized district initiatives that allege to support students but actually do minimal collaborative work with students to change learning conditions.

"We want students to advocate for themselves, but they need help doing that. Students without support won’t advocate for themselves," Little-Sasanecki said.

Bryant said the SEA will work on not only increasing the number of educators of color working in the city but also increasing the number of members of color in union leadership roles.

"I know this is all going to be a work in progress," Bryant said. "But this is a big moment in time for us."

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