NORTHAMPTON —– Three days before they will greet this year’s roughly 2,600 students, teachers, administrators and staff from across the Northampton Public Schools packed the high school auditorium Monday morning for an annual convocation ceremony that serves as a launch to a new school year.

Attendees were welcomed by new Superintendent Portia Bonner, who officially took over the position on July 1, replacing interim superintendent Jannell Pearson-Campbell. 

“We are all interconnected in our role in creating a district culture that is focused on the children of Northampton to be successful at all levels,” Bonner said. “Students are at the core of our work. It is why we do what we do. We provide the environment for children to exercise their human rights to be educated.” 

Bonner, who has more than 30 years of experience in education and was most recently the interim superintendent for the Bozrah School District in Connecticut, is the first African American to serve as permanent superintendent for the Northampton Public School district. During her keynote address, she also described herself as a person of faith, an introvert and an optimist. She spoke about the disruption brought about to education from the COVID-19 pandemic as a “black swan event,” one that would require educators working together to continue to navigate the new changes.

“It is us working collaboratively together  for the purpose of educating every child that enters the doors of our schools, seeing that they enter an environment that is safely clean, accessible, inclusive, rigorous and challenging,” she said. “We are essential, because we increase the value of Northampton children by depositing knowledge.” 

Bonner added some lighthearted entertainment to the ceremony, with associate director of student services Celeste Malvezzi dressing up as the character Barbie and offering advice based on the recent blockbuster movie starring the Mattel doll. 

“Just like in the world of fashion, teaching is all about expressing yourself, being unique and encouraging others to do the same,” Malvezzi said. “We embrace diversity, we celebrate individuality and create a world where everyone can sparkle in their own way.”

Ending MCAS, other initiatives 

The ceremony also featured remarks from Andrea Egitto, president of the Northampton Association of School Employees (NASE) union. Egitto encouraged staff to seek out support from their peers and find people who will help encourage their professional growth. 

“You never have to feel like you’re isolated or alone in this work,” she said. “Remember that in our solidarity, we are strong.” 

Egitto also said that NASE, which is part of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, would be collecting signatures this year to put a ballot question to eliminate the requirement that students need to pass the MCAS test in order to graduate. 

“Our high school teachers can tell you, because they have seen firsthand the stress and anxiety that this requirement puts on our students,” she said. “We’re going to need to collect 165,000 signatures statewide to end this anxiety.” 

Roxanne Dorrie, the director of curriculum and instruction for the district, said schools this year were debuting a new social network, ParentSquare, that would allow educators and parents to communicate more directly with each other. The network had been piloted at Jackson Street Elementary School the previous year. 

“We’ll have total control over who gets and who sees what,” she said about the network. “It also autosyncs teachers  to only relevant students and families.” 

Following the convocation ceremony, staff are scheduled to take part in a professional development day on Tuesday, followed by a teacher work day on Wednesday. Students will return for their first day of the 2023-2024 school year on Thursday. 

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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