Agustin Morales

Agustin Morales, a teacher whose contract was not renewed at Maurice A. Donahue School in Holyoke.

(Submitted photo)

HOLYOKE -- Minutes before Agustin Morales, an English teacher at Maurice A. Donahue School, was to head home for the evening, the school principal asked to speak with him and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

In her office, Donahue Principal Amy Fitzgerald handed Morales a letter, dated June 13, regarding his employment with the school: his contract was not renewed for the upcoming school year.

In the first three years of employment, school administrators can decide not to rehire a teacher who they feel is doing a poor job.

Morales said his contract was not renewed in retaliation for criticizing educational reform — including testing, data walls and administrative changes — in Holyoke Public Schools.

"I wasn't surprised when I received the letter. I spoke out. I knew the risk," Morales said in an interview on Thursday. "I'd just hoped we could act like adults and have a civil discourse."

Morales had been employed as a teacher at Donahue since 2011. On May 8, he was named president-elect of the teacher’s union after campaigning against education reform efforts.

"It's retaliation," he said. "An elected union leader should be able to speak freely on behalf of students and teachers."

When asked about Morales' employment contract, School Superintendent Sergio Paez said Thursday, "It's a private matter between an employee and the School Department."

Fifteen to 20 positions will be cut through job mergers, attrition and layoffs to help close a budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Some of those involve teachers who lacked professional teacher status, a kind of tenure for Massachusetts public school teachers reached upon a teacher working three straight years in a school district.

Paez declined to say whether Morales would be let go because he lacked professional teacher status.

Calls and an email to Principal Fitzgerald for comment were not returned.

In recent months, Morales said, there has been an increased focus on testing within the school.

"This past year, we've given up teaching time for test prep time. Students spent twenty-eight to thirty days in testing mode (for standardized tests,)" Morales said. "We can't possibly teach everything on it and our kids don't do well. It's killing the morale, stifling creativity and hurting students' self-esteem."

2013 MCAS test scores show Donahue students tested at 28 percent proficient in English, 19 percent in math and 6 percent in science when compared to what's expected at their grade level.

When the students at Donahue are compared to others across the state, Morales said, the students are "set up to fail" due to outside factors in their lives. "All these report cards do is reveal poverty, the socioeconomic status of Holyoke."

He added, "The intelligence of my students can't be measured by simple tests. It can't be classified, grouped into a box by subject."

Of the 557 students enrolled in the school, 89.2 percent are from low-income families. 28.7 percent are enrolled in programs to help them learn English. 25.3 percent are students with disabilities.

In February, parents and teachers attended a school committee meeting to protest "data walls," the posting of student's test scores and reading levels next to their names in their classrooms.

Holyoke Superintendent of Schools Sergio Paez said he didn't direct teachers to post such results, but parents and teachers disagreed.

Mike Plaisance reported,

In his two sixth-grade and one eighth-grade English classes, Morales said he refused to post test scores. "No teacher worth their salt would have a data wall," he added.

Additionally, he has spoken out at school committee meetings against data walls and changes at other Holyoke schools, including turnaround efforts at Morgan School.

Such efforts, Morales believes, led to his contract not being renewed.

On Tuesday, Morales posted the letter regarding his employment with Holyoke Public Schools on Facebook. Within hours, dozens shared, liked and commented with words of encouragement.

The following day, Donahue teacher Erin DuFresne created a petition in support of Morales.

Within hours, the petition had hundreds of signatures. As of Friday morning, it had over 1,300 signatures.

The petition will be presented at the Holyoke School Committee meeting on Monday, where teachers and other local union members, including the Holyoke Firefighter's union, will protest his firing.

Chris Butler, President of I.A.F.F. Local #1693, said in a statement, “The Holyoke Firefighters Local #1693 stand in solidarity with the Holyoke teachers and we fully support Mr. Morales in this travesty against organized labor.”

A teacher of seven years, Morales has received community support in the past when his employment contract was not renewed.

In 2009, his contract was not renewed after finishing his third year teaching at Edward J. Bellamy Middle School in Chicopee.

Morales questioned if he was not rehired because he is Latino.

"Absolutely not, there is no grounds for that," Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said.

Morales hired legal representation to look into his claim of discrimination. When asked recently of it, he said, "I'm not embarrassed of it. I won that case."

When asked if he is currently considering legal action against Holyoke Public Schools, Morales said, "I am a fighter. I will not stop fighting and all options are currently on the table."

Mike Plaisance contributed to this report.