MTA Today - Summer 2013

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Official Publication of the Massachusetts Teachers Association

Partnerships promote student achievement

By Bob Duffy

A s summer turns to fall, the Red Sox are in the midst of a playoff quest, the Celtics are gearing up for a new season and the Bruins are preparing for another run at the Stanley Cup.

MTA academic achievement programs that involve partnerships with all three teams allow students and educators to be part of the action.

The MTA Red Sox Reading Game, which is drawing to a close for 2013, promotes reading and literacy among Massachusetts students. The annual contest is open to all Massachusetts students in kindergarten through eighth grade who pledge to read nine books over the summer.

In July, the thousands of student entries that arrived this year were entered into a drawing for free tickets to a Red Sox home game. The 100 winners and their teachers are now preparing to attend the Sept. 21 game at Fenway Park against the Toronto Blue Jays.

A companion program to the reading game, the MTA Red Sox Most Valuable Educator Program, recognizes the hard work that educators do all year.

Anyone who works in public education or helps students — a teacher, paraprofessional, coach or librarian, for example — can be nominated. Those selected by the Sox based on essays win free tickets to a Saturday home game, take part in a ceremony on the field, hear their names announced over the loudspeaker, see their photos displayed prominently on the field’s giant video screen and get prime seats behind home plate.

“It was an honor representing all Massachusetts teachers in a positive light,” said MVE Meredith Moore, a math teacher at Methuen High School and a member of the Methuen Education Association.

MVE Nancy Barile, an English language arts
teacher at Revere High School and a member of the
Revere Education Association, said being cheered by
the Fenway faithful for her work as an educator was
“probably the coolest thing that’s ever happened to
“You have no idea how much it meant to my
family and me,” Barile said.

Nancy Barile, an English language arts teacher at Revere High School, joined Wally the Green Monster on the field at Fenway Park. She was honored as an MTA Red Sox Most Valuable Educator.

Michael Cummo/Boston Red Sox

Another fast-growing partnership is the MTA Boston Celtics Honor Roll program, which awards game tickets and a halftime trip to the parquet floor of the Garden to students who achieve a B average or have an exemplary attendance record.

Students who make the MTA Boston Celtics Honor Roll have the opportunity to purchase buy-one, get-one-free tickets and reserve additional seats to the same game at a discount. At each game, up to 20 participants who are on their schools’ honor rolls are invited to appear on the court and high-five the players as they take the court.

Meanwhile, interest in the Bruins is expected to be high this year following their appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in June. The team’s I.C.E. School program — the letters stand for I Can Excel — provides educators with a way to tap into the excitement.

“The Boston Bruins I.C.E. School program is designed to make learning stick,” said Kerry Collins, director of community relations for the team.

Lesson plans for students in kindergarten through eighth grade “incorporate hockey, Bruins players and Bruins stats” and reflect the Common Core State Standards, she said.

For information about the MTA Boston Celtics Honor Roll program, call the Celtics’ Chrissy Cronin at 617.854.8034 or e-mail ccronin@celtics.com. For information about the Bruins I.C.E. School program, e-mail Community Relations Coordinator Ashley Hansen at amhansen@bostonbruins.com or call 617.624.1923. For information about the MTA Boston Red Sox Reading Game and Most Valuable Educator program, visit www.readingmatters.org.

MVE Nancy Barile, an English language arts teacher at Revere High School and a member of the Revere Education Association, said being cheered by the Fenway faithful for her work as an educator was “probably the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”