Profiles of Districts Working to Improve Schools

The following are examples of AFT locals and districts engaged in the work of improving schools.

The ABC Unified School District, California

The ABC Unified School District, a small, urban district southeast of Los Angeles, includes Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and parts of Lakewood, Long Beach, and Norwalk, Calif. The district is governed by a seven-member board of education and enjoys a strong labor-management partnership. Together, the AFT Local 2317 president and the superintendent have turned a failing district into one with improving quality through programs that support professional development for teachers in schools with high ELL and special education populations, peer coaching and community partnerships. MORE...

Toledo Public Schools, Ohio

The Toledo Federation of Teachers and the Toledo Board of Education began implementing the Toledo Plan, the result of a labor-management agreement on peer mentoring and evaluation, in 1981. The plan provides an Intern Program to evaluate and develop new teachers' classroom teaching as well as peer review for veteran teachers. An Intern Board of Review, staffed by five union and four management representatives, and chaired by labor and management alternatively, determines teachers' status. MORE...

Baltimore City Public School System, Maryland

Change in the Baltimore City Public School System began in 1997, with a new city/state partnership, the adoption of a master plan for improving the system, increased state funding and labor-management teamwork. MORE...

Miami-Dade County School Improvement Zone, Florida

In 2004-05, Miami began the School Improvement Zone, which implemented special programs and services aimed at boosting student achievement. Despite gains made through the Zone Schools Initiative, funding ceased in June 2008. MORE...