STRIKE: Newton teachers vote to strike, schools closed starting Friday

by Newton News Editor | Jan 18, 2024 | Newton Beacon

The Newton Teachers Association has voted to strike, ending weeks of whispers and speculation about whether this day would come. Newton teachers filled the cascade of steps outside City Hall Thursday evening, waving signs and chanting rallying cries with a passion...

City Councilors pen letter opposing teacher strike

by Newton News Editor | Jan 18, 2024 | Newton Beacon

Members of the City Council have co-authored and co-signed an open letter to Newton’s public schools community Thursday morning, hours before an anticipated teacher union strike vote. In the letter, 19 of the city’s 24 councilors ask the NTA to vote against a strike...

Mayor: Teacher strike ‘would harm our children’

by Newton News Editor | Jan 17, 2024 | Newton Beacon

On the eve of an expected teacher union strike vote, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is urging the Newton Teachers Association not to go on strike. “I know that a strike by the Newton Teachers Association would harm our children and disrupt the lives of our parents/caregivers,”...

Boiling Point: Teachers, parents rally outside City Hall as potential strike vote nears

by Newton News Editor | Jan 17, 2024 | Newton Beacon

On Sunday, as teachers, parents and local officials sat and discussed Newton’s ongoing teacher contract dispute, parents wanted to know how they could pressure Mayor Ruthanne Fuller to allocate more money toward Newton’s schools. City councilors in attendance...

Newton School Committee asks state to investigate NTA for planned strike

by Newton News Editor | Jan 16, 2024 | Newton Beacon

The School Committee on Tuesday announced that it was seeking a state investigation into strike activity involving the Newton Teachers Association. The committee claims to have evidence that the NTA plans to hold a membership vote on whether to go on strike this...

The Confluence: Parents, teachers, officials talk teacher contract

by Newton News Editor | Jan 16, 2024 | Newton Beacon

As the seemingly endless contract negotiation makes its way into a new year, some School Committee and City Council members are trying to bridge the chasm of miscommunication among teachers, district officials and parents. On Sunday, parents of Horace Mann students...

‘Sankofa’: Newton honors Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and call to service [videos]

by Newton News Editor | Jan 15, 2024 | Newton Beacon

Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 94 years old this week. Although the civil rights leader was struck down in 1968, he left behind a vision of peace and racial justice and a call for every person to serve humanity. Newton held its annual Martin Luther King Day...

Lovin’ Spoonfuls receives $25K grant for fight against food insecurity

by Newton News Editor | Jan 12, 2024 | Newton Beacon

The Sincere Foundation has completed a grant cycle awarding a combined $250,000 to nonprofits in Massachusetts, and Lovin’ Spoonfuls in Newton got $25,000 of it. Lovin’ Spoonfuls, established in 2010, which collects fresh healthy food that would otherwise be thrown...

Newton Community Pride to host third annual WinterFEST

by Newton News Editor | Jan 11, 2024 | Newton Beacon

Do the winter blues have you feeling down? Newton will have a fix for that later this month. Newton Community Pride is hosting its third annual WinterFEST on Saturday, Jan. 28, and Sunday, Jan. 29. WinterFEST events—which are mostly outdoors, so dress accordingly—will...

Five things to do in Newton this weekend

by Newton News Editor | Jan 11, 2024 | Newton Beacon

You wouldn’t know it’s winter by the warm, rainy weather forecast, but the coming weekend offers lots of ways to escape the wet winter woes. This weekend is a long one, with Monday a holiday honoring civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Here are five things to do...