Post-Pandemic Woes Grind Common Ground

by MAYA MCFADDEN The new haven independent

Students, staff, and parents at Common Ground High School say the school is going downhill because of high teacher turnover and distrust for administration. The environmental-themed charter school’s board and leaders say they are working to get to the bottom of these concerns. 
Out of about 50 staffers total at Common Ground, more than two thirds have voluntarily or involuntarily departed in the last two years, according to former art teacher Nicole Mackin, among those who left. 
School Director Cherry Pacquette-Emmanuel confirmed these departure numbers for the Independent, stating that these departures occurred between 2021 and 2023. 
“A small number departed during the school year; most left over the summer in 2022 and 2023,” she said. “Since September 2021, four staff members have been terminated or not had their contracts renewed. Three retired; the rest chose to leave Common Ground.”
In an Aug. 24, 2023 letter of resignation, Mackin said, “I would love to work at Common Ground under different circumstances, leadership, community, safety and support.”
“Unhappy staff, students, and parents can’t just keep getting swept under the rug,” added former employee Rikki Brown, who said she reluctantly resigned as a math teacher last school year.
Current students and staff, parents, and former staffers shared their concerns about the West Rock-based school with this reporter in a series of recent interviews.
School community members from the past and present have issued public and private pleas over the last year for a more transparent and accountable administration. In response, the school’s board of directors hosted focus groups with staff to hear concerns and feedback. 
Click here to read one letter written to school leaders. 
The board’s school committee met with a total of 25 staff members for the focus groups over two weeks in November. Each session lasted 40 – 60 minutes
Pacquette-Emmanuel said those who spearheaded the focus groups “asked questions with an emphasis on concerns about communication and systems as well as feelings of mistrust of, and/or not being valued by, leadership.” She said the school is looking to work with staff on solutions.
So far the gathering of staff input has led to the school hiring a director of diversity, equity and inclusion, and a lead teacher of curriculum development and instruction. Both positions have been filled by long-term staffers. 
Pacquette-Emmanuel and Assistant School Director Shanequa Sturgis-Nash started at Common Ground three years ago. 
Pacquette-Emmanuel told the Independent that upon her arrival, the school was facing staff shortages and high turnover rates as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. She said that since her start, she has been deliberate about re-stabilizing the school community.
“Staff satisfaction, effectiveness and retention are a shared priority of our board, leadership and staff. We are proud of the strong, diverse team we’ve built for the 2023 – 24 school year (we are at 47% teachers of color compared to 11% statewide), and are committed to working hand in hand with them to make sure they have the support and resources to give our students the education they need,” she wrote in an email message.
The new director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) position has been filled by Candi Fulcher, who previously served as the manager of environmental leadership & portfolios and has worked at the school since 2018. 
Fulcher will be charged with being a listening ear and liaison between students, staff, and administration when it comes to concerns related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and helping administration check in with staff and students morale. 
The role as DEI specialist was paid through a stipend. As staff and student concerns continued it was made into a full-time position within administration. Pacquette-Emmanuel said the DEI role was created this year due to students expressing concerns about racism in the classroom. 
Fulcher said since the start of year she has been hosting one-on-one check-ins with staff to identify where support is needed, address concerns as they come up, and mediate conflicts.
This school year staff have been offered trainings and professional development in leadership and equity, classroom practices for improving student learning and behavior, creating welcoming classrooms, deescalation, and gender and sexuality.