‘False narrative’: Revere superintendent responds after teachers claim schools plagued by violence

REVERE, Mass. — The head of the public school district in Revere is blasting teachers union leaders for mischaracterizing the school district amid growing concerns of violence in local schools.

Revere Public Schools Superintendent Dianne Kelly said the teachers union is using the media “to amplify a false narrative that serves their bargaining platform.”

“The Revere Teacher’s Association is using the media and the unacceptable fight that occurred at Revere High two weeks ago to amplify a false narrative that serves their bargaining platform,” Kelly said in a statement on Tuesday. “This was evident in their commentary at the city council meeting last night where they repeatedly referenced their contract proposals, including the false claim that I instructed them to refrain from speaking to the media.”

Kelly issued the statement one day after dozens of teachers and parents shared their concerns about school violence during a City Council meeting on Monday night.

With her statement, Kelly attached a letter addressed to Jane Chapin and Michelle Ervin, co-presidents of the Revere Teachers Association.

In her letter, Kelly cites local media articles, one in which Ervin is quoted as saying, “We had two psychologists that had a caseload, they ended up quitting in the middle of the year because they had a caseload of 1,000 each.”

In her letter to union leaders, Kelly wrote: “Despite the RTA’s statement, you are well aware that no school psychologist working for the Revere Public Schools carries a caseload of 1,000 students.”

“There is no question that you have certain rights under Massachusetts Labor Law to advocate for the RTA and the associated terms and conditions of employment of its members. You also have certain rights under the First Amendment. That does not, however, include disseminating false and/or misleading information,” Kelly wrote to union leaders.

“Simply put, doing so is not in the best interests of the Revere Public Schools community, including students and staff. This is particularly so where the false statements pertain to a student conduct incident,” Kelly wrote to union leaders.

Kelly said that she wrote to Ervin and Chapin “in an effort to stop their untruthful vitriol that is creating greater strife in our community and eroding the trust of our families.”

“For full transparency, I have attached that letter here. Their portrayal of this letter as me telling them not to talk to the media is just another example of their false narrative,” Kelly said.

In her letter to the union, Kelly cited employee conduct rules for district employees and ordered the union leaders to stop making false statements.

“I remind you that in the Employee Handbook at p. 9 staff agree that their conduct will serve as an example for our students, including refraining from making false statements or engaging in untruthfulness and from revealing any individual’s confidential information (including medical),” Kelly wrote in her letter. “Accordingly, you must stop distributing or making false and/or misleading statements to the media and/or the public.”

Meanwhile, Revere teachers say there have already been several fights at Revere High School just days into the new school year.

Ervin was two doors down from a brawl that broke out on the third day. Ervin earlier said the assistant principal was injured in that fight.

“It infuriates me that our superintendent and our school committee can’t take that seriously,” Ervin said Monday.

Kelly, the superintendent, said “No occurrence of disruption to student learning is acceptable.”

“When these instances occur, whether they are young special needs students or high school adolescents, we work with families and ensure resources are provided to help both the child and their caregivers,” Kelly said. “When necessary, we work with the Revere Police as we did in the case of the fight at RHS.”

The superintendent said “It is incredibly disheartening to hear how this particular group of teachers characterize our school district.”

“We are fortunate to have hundreds of extremely dedicated staff who, everyday, come to our schools, meet our students where they are academically and emotionally, and help them learn,” Kelly said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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