Fight for America's Future Tour 2010: San Francisco

El Dorado Elementary School
April 20, 7:30 a.m.

AFT president Randi Weingarten had a clear and consistent message when she visited San Francisco on April 20 as part of the AFT's Fight for America's Future 2010 tour. Laying off teachers and other staff, she said in meetings with teachers, union leaders, elected officials and parents, is the wrong solution to California's budget problems.

AFT president Weingarten and UESF president Dennis Kelly meet with second-grade teacher Johanna Woo at El Dorado Elementary School.

Weingarten, who said the layoffs would "pull the rug out from under kids," urged support of measures such as the Local Jobs for America Act sponsored by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), and the Keep Our Educators Working Act sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Both bills include $23 billion that would help districts avert layoffs of teachers and other educators.

Weingarten's first stop in San Francisco was El Dorado Elementary School, where 13 of 20 teachers received layoff notices in March. Joined by United Educators of San Francisco president Dennis Kelly, who is also an AFT vice president, and UESF executive vice president Linda Plack, Weingarten visited classrooms and assured the school's staff that the AFT and the UESF are committed to fighting the layoffs at El Dorado and other San Francisco schools.

Weingarten met with second-grade teacher Johanna Woo, who is among those who received a layoff notice. A first-year teacher, Woo told Weingarten that she was worried about what would happen if the school, which serves a largely low-income student population, were to lose committed teachers like her.

El Dorado's building representative, Megan Caluza, said the school's staff has been reaching out to parents and showing up at school board meetings "to drive home the point that this school has made great progress," which would be jeopardized by the layoffs.

Meeting with Mayor Gavin Newsom
8:45 a.m.

Following the visit to El Dorado, Weingarten went to San Francisco City Hall to meet with Mayor Gavin Newsom. One of the primary issues they discussed was the stalled contract negotiations between the UESF and the school board. The San Francisco local has proposed $27 million in concessions that the school board and superintendent have rejected, leading to an impasse in negotiations. "The mayor expressed a willingness to get involved" in the negotiations if necessary, Kelly reported.

Newsom told Weingarten he believes collaboration is needed among all the major stakeholders, including parents and teachers, in order to overcome the tough socioeconomic backgrounds that some San Francisco schoolchildren hail from. “I don’t care how fancy the school is, we still have to deal with the underlying issues” that affect children and their families, he said. Under his leadership, Newsom pointed out, there has been an increased investment in early childhood education and after-school programs.

Ronn Owens radio show
10 a.m.

An appearance on the Ronn Owens radio show on San Francisco's KGO AM 810 gave Weingarten an opportunity to field questions from listeners on topics ranging from No Child Left Behind to performance standards for teachers. On the issue of NCLB, Weingarten said the law "did something very important" by shining the spotlight on low-performing schools. But she criticized the law for blaming those schools and their staffs, instead of doing what it takes to improve them.

The AFT president also assured listeners that teachers and the union "don't want bad teachers" in classrooms. She went on to say that the union is "not afraid" of performance standards for teachers and that it supports an improved teacher development and evaluation system. When asked about motivating students who have lost interest in school, Weingarten said it was important to have "a broad, well-rounded curriculum that engages kids."

Lunch with Bay Area AFT leaders
1 p.m.

During a luncheon later that day at the local union's headquarters, Weingarten participated in a lively discussion with UESF and California Federation of Teachers leaders. Ken Tray, the San Francisco local's political director, lamented the current "blame the teacher" climate and said it was taking a toll on the morale of the city's teachers. Weingarten said the economic recession and school districts' inability to fund real reform has made it easier to scapegoat educators.

"We have to show that we are the ones leading the way to good and great schools," said Weingarten, noting that the AFT has been working on developing a new, more effective teacher evaluation system.

Recognition by San Francisco Board of Supervisors
3:30 p.m.

Later in the afternoon, Weingarten brought her message of collaboration and cooperation to both the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and a group of parents. The session with the board of supervisors started with a commendation of Weingarten, applauding the AFT president for fighting to make sure teachers and other educators are "treated with respect and dignity and have a voice" in education decisions. In her brief remarks to the board of supervisors, Weingarten asked that the elected leaders "urge the superintendent and the board of education to get back to the bargaining table" with UESF and avert the proposed layoffs.

Meeting with parents and community leaders
4 p.m.

The eventful day culminated with Weingarten meeting with a small group of parent leaders and community activists. The discussion focused on ways in which the union and its members can work with parents and the community on behalf of kids. "It's important that we forge better teacher, parent and community relations," said Weingarten, who commended the San Francisco parents for standing up against the budget cuts.

Ellie Rossiter, who heads up the San Francisco chapter of Parents for Public Schools, said parents, teachers and administrators must continue to collaborate on behalf of schools and students. "Parents don't want to be pitted against teachers, because we all are really all about kids," she said. [Roger Glass/photos by Russ Curtis]