PrintChicagoans mobilize against Renaissance 2010
Chicago teachers, parents, labor groups and civic organizations have joined hands to stop a plan that could lead to the closing of dozens of public schools over the next six years and replace them with unproven schemes such as charter schools or buildings operating under private contractors.
In December, the Chicago Teachers Union presented the Chicago Board of Education with a petition filled with more than 15,000 signatures opposing the so-called Renaissance 2010 plan. The plan, announced last year by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, is being pushed by school CEO Arne Duncan under the banner of turning around or closing low-performing schools in the city.
But replacing public schools with charter buildings, which typically underperform traditional schools in the city, is not a strategy that many residents are buying, and civic groups such as Chicagoans United for Education and local labor groups have joined with teachers to voice their opposition through rallies, demonstrations and petitions.
“Chicago’s charter schools had scores that were in the basement” in comparison to regular public schools across the city, says new CTU president Marilyn Stewart. All Chicago-based charter schools had scores below the statewide average in third-grade reading, third-grade math, fifth-grade reading and eighth-grade math, she reports.
In November, as many as 1,000 people braved the cold to rally at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago to voice their opposition to Renaissance 2010 and in support of a qualified credentialed teacher in every classroom. “Renaissance 2010 is an untested and rushed initiative that will create the displacement of 20,000 students and the loss of employment for thousands of union workers,” Stewart told the crowd. “We are opposed to any plan that takes control and accountability out of the hands of parents, local school councils, communities and the union.
“The business of educating children should be left to experienced educators, not handed over to the private sector.”
In January, the city board of education approved 12 Renaissance 2010 schools for the 2005-06 school year. Four had previously won board approval, and two were pending as American Teacher went to press. Part of the community’s message appeared to be getting through, however, as the board was only willing to approve seven charter schools in this rollout—all of them operated by local nonprofit organizations rather than major for-profit companies—and kept the balance of buildings in the regular school system. In late January, CPS officials said four regular public schools, three elementary schools and one high school would be shut down in June as part of the plan. “That’s four schools too many,” said Stewart, who stressed that the district should be looking for ways to replicate successful public school models throughout the city rather than shuttering buildings.
“The CTU will be locking arms with ever increasing numbers of other organizations in fighting Renaissance 2010 at every turn,” she said.
New contract for members of St. Louis union
Agreement reached just hours before planned strike
Substantial salary increases and increased opportunities for professional development are among the highlights of a new contract between the St. Louis Teachers and School-Related Personnel Union and the city’s school district.
Members of the AFT affiliate ratified the four-year agreement in early January—just hours before a planned strike. “This agreement represents a new era of respect for the extremely hard work of St. Louis Public School teachers and support employees,” says local president Mary Armstrong. “With four years of labor peace, teachers and other school support employees can now focus on the challenging work of raising student achievement levels.”
Armstrong singled out the contribution of St. Louis labor council president Robert Soutier, who, after members of the union had rejected a previous offer, set up a meeting between Armstrong and the city’s mayor, and then brought together the interim superintendent, the school board president and the St. Louis local’s officers. “Bob [Soutier] took the lead in brokering a deal” between the union and the district, Armstrong said.
Salary increases for teachers will range from 11 percent to 26 percent over the four-year contract. The agreement also includes a provision stipulating that if teacher salaries in the five surrounding suburban districts increase during the second year, St. Louis teacher salaries will be indexed to keep them comparable.
PSRPs will receive a flat $1,000 increase for the 2004-05 school year, and the union will renegotiate pay levels after conducting a study on salary and workload issues by June 1. The union also got the district to agree to keep binding arbitration in the contract. “We’re a meet-and-confer state, so that’s a very important provision for us,” Armstrong points out.
The agreement lengthens both the school day and school year. However, the longer school year includes additional days for teachers to prepare for the start of school as well as increased days for professional development.
The amount that employees pay for health insurance has been hiked. But the district did agree to keep employee health insurance costs at previous levels if the union can identify by July 1, 2005, an insurance carrier that can provide the current level of benefits at a lesser cost.
United Teachers of Dade helps launch ambitious literacy drive
Superintendent and teachers collaborate on school reform plan
Thirty-nine schools in Dade County, Fla., have embarked on a school reform project that is not only one of the most ambitious literacy initiatives in the country but is also a prime example of labor-management cooperation.
Starting in January, the 39 low-performing schools in what’s being called the School Improvement Zone began implementing a series of changes that include a longer school day and year, higher teacher pay, intensive professional development, extended literacy blocks for students even after elementary school and new high-quality reading materials.
“When management is open to true dialogue, as opposed to political maneuvering, the results can be incredible,” says Mark Richard, the outgoing administrator of United Teachers of Dade (UTD), who worked closely with superintendent Rudy Crew to negotiate the details of the zone. The Dade initiative in many ways replicates a successful effort that Crew introduced in New York City when he headed that city’s public schools.
Richard makes it clear that Crew and the union were both dedicated to the idea that the ambitious project would only work if it was “a true partnership, in the best interests of students and teachers.” For his part, Richard insisted that teachers who opted to work in the zone be paid for the extended time—a total of 20 percent more, with an additional hour in the school day and 10 more days overall.
UTD member Danielle Boyer, who teaches at Miami Edison High School, says it makes sense to pay the teachers more because so much is required of staff in the zone schools. “For the first time in a long time, teachers who work in these schools, teachers who are loyal to these students, are being respected for the work they do,” says Boyer, who served on the UTD team that negotiated the agreement for the special schools.
The schools, which make up about 10 percent of the large district, were selected based on low academic performance for three years as well as leadership capacity and feeder patterns with a number of low-performing schools. An intense focus on literacy is the centerpiece. In kindergarten through fifth grade, that means 3.5 hours per day. Students in secondary school who are reading below grade level will have a 100-minute daily literacy block, and teachers will complete 58 hours of professional development each year.
A professional development team in each school will help plan the training based on what that school and its staff need.
Crew has also insisted that the schools remain part of the improvement zone for at least three years, even if they see academic gains in the first year or two. Boyer calls the project “temporary but necessary” so the system can “make sure these students get the proper education they deserve.”
Michigan local shows mobilization matters
Union leads campaign to recall school board members
The Hamtramck (Mich.) Federation of Teachers demonstrated its political clout last year when it launched—and won—a campaign to recall three members of the district’s school board, including board president Camille Colatosti.
The local, which represents about 250 teachers, joined forces with the school custodial and secretaries union for the recall campaign. And, when the board fired popular administrators, students joined the campaign as well, staging a mass walkout at Kosciuszko Middle School.
Tension between the union and board members, who referred to themselves as the reform board, had been mounting since 2003; the conflict was initially precipitated by the board’s closed-door meetings, which were a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act. Then, in January 2004, the reform board, with its 4-3 majority, systematically began to deconstruct the district. First it fired superintendent Paul Stamatakis and hired Janet Guggenheim as interim superintendent at the rate of $16,500 a month plus expenses.
“She had no K-12 experience whatsoever,” Hamtramck federation president Bo Karpinsky says of Guggenheim. “We were at a point where we couldn’t wait any longer [to take action]. They were destroying us and the district.”
The union and its allies went door-to-door to garner support for the recall. They also held town hall meetings.
Because of its ethnic and cultural diversity, Hamtramck has been called “Michigan’s Ellis Island.” About 60 percent of the district’s 3,000-plus public school students speak English as a second language. Notwithstanding that diversity, Hamtramck residents proved they form a tightly knit community that is united behind its schools.
“The Hamtramck federation understands two things,” Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel president and AFT vice president David Hecker says. “The first, how important having good people on the school board is—people who are committed to public education and who respect the men and women who educate our children. And they understand the importance of mobilizing your members and the community around local education issues.”
George Parker to lead D.C. teacher union
Washington, D.C., junior high school teacher and former union field representative George Parker is the new president of the Washington Teachers Union. Unofficial results of mail ballots counted Jan. 26 for the runoff election show that Parker defeated WTU field representative Rachel Hicks, 999-816. Parker’s slate of candidates also was elected: Nathan Saunders, vice president; Joyce Amoo, recording secretary; and Sallie Littlejohn, treasurer. Their terms of office run through June 30, 2007. (The WTU elections committee has received a challenge from the Hicks slate alleging election infractions.)
The election of new officers at WTU will bring to a close the AFT administratorship of the local, which began in January 2003 after the AFT discovered that more than $5 million in union funds had been misappropriated by several former officers and staff of the local.
The AFT executive council appointed AFT regional director George Springer to serve as the WTU administrator, and in October 2004 members overwhelmingly approved amendments to the local’s constitution to improve its operating and oversight functions and to be in compliance with the national AFT constitution.
Special ed collaboration showcased in Newark
AFT local works with parents, district
The Newark Teachers Union (NTU) took part in a groundbreaking teleconference in late January that showcased the types of partnerships necessary to help students with disabilities make the most of their education.
The event was carried at 33 sites across the nation and focused on strategies for effective inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular classroom. It featured presentations from NTU, district administrators and the New Jersey Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), an advocacy group for students with disabilities. It was sponsored by the Urban Special Education Leadership collaborative, a federally funded partnership.
“The event put together solid, research-based information” on inclusion practices, says NTU’s Mitch Gerry, who represented the local at the teleconference and informed participants about AFT materials to help educators identify student strengths, weaknesses and precursory skills necessary for the mainstream classroom environment. Gerry also presented information on behavior management in the classroom that is featured in the AFT’s educational research and dissemination (ER&D) program and on professional development for educators.
The teleconference explored ways to work with children with disabilities that “ensure maximum exposure to the curriculum in a meaningful way,” Gerry says.
Feedback from the 33 sites involved in the teleconference has been tremendous, says district deputy superintendent Anzella Nelms, who called it “a terrific presentation, rich in modeling and specific in details.”
“The message of collaboration came through loud and clear,” at the teleconference, reports SPAN executive co-director Diana Autin.
There already has been some interest in a follow-up presentation at a national conference later this year. Many of the materials used in the teleconference are available via the Newark Teachers Union Web site www.ntuaft.com.
New Jersey early childhood educators celebrate first contract
Teachers display their solidarity throughout negotiations process
Early childhood educators at the Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill, N.J., have successfully negotiated their first contract. The Early Childhood Federation of Teachers ratified the agreement in December by an overwhelming 49-1 majority. The ECFT represents 60 head teachers, teaching assistants, and daycare and nursery workers who signed on with the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers in April 2004.
Under the terms of the three-year contract, the teaching staff will receive salary increases ranging from 15 percent to 25 percent as well as paid sick leave, a sliding salary scale and a bathroom specifically designated for staff. In addition, the teachers were able to maintain their health insurance plan.
Cynthia Pickus, president of the local and a head transitional kindergarten teacher at Katz is particularly pleased with the contract’s grievance procedure.
“The school administration tried to solve our problems on an individual basis and not necessarily for the good of the entire unit,” says Pickus.
Organizing and negotiating for this contract have brought the teachers closer together, says Pickus, who notes that teachers in the daycare area were not always “in sync” with teachers in the nursery school. “Now we know we can count on each other, and we don’t feel like we’re so alone,” she says.
During negotiations, the union filed an injunction against the center for changing the conditions of employment when school administrators changed staff shifts and instituted the use of a time clock. The center’s administrators also held one-on-one meetings with members telling them that they didn’t need the union to solve their problems.
ECFT members remained united, however. They came to work in color-coordinated T-shirts, circulated petitions of support in the community, and placed “Contract Now!” signs in their cars. The union called on community groups such as the Jewish Labor Committee and the Jewish Federation of New Jersey as well as Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Democratic state Sen. John Adler to support the teachers’ efforts to get a first contract.
Everyone worked together to fight for this contract, says Seth Goldstein, the contract administrator for the state federation.
“It felt good to know that the community was there for us and that we were doing the right thing,” says Pickus, who has worked for the Katz JCC for 14 years. “We wanted fair and equitable treatment, but the lines of communication broke down over the years and we needed a way to voice our concerns. Now we have a say.”
Council approves organizing plan of action
The AFT has laid out a path for the union’s organizing program that will include greater outreach to new constituencies, a national organizing model, more training for organizers and greater use of volunteer organizers in campaigns. In a series of recommendations approved by the AFT executive council at its winter meeting in Florida, the union’s organizing committee outlined a plan of action that builds on the union’s substantial experience in achieving continued growth.
In “Strengthening AFT’s Culture of Organizing,” the committee, chaired by AFT secretary-treasurer Nat LaCour, outlined a 10-point plan that refines and expands the union’s organizing agenda and outlines several new initiatives. One is the development of an AFT organizing model that would serve as a standard for organizing across the union. This model would draw on the experience of AFT and affiliate organizing staff to incorporate the union’s “best practices” in organizing campaigns. Also part of this initiative will be “comprehensive and progressive organizer training programs” based on the model.
The union also plans to establish a corps of voluntary organizers from within the ranks of AFT members who can communicate with prospective members and assist in organizing campaigns throughout the country. The AFT has successfully used volunteer organizers from established AFT locals to help with membership recruitment and other campaigns in the South in recent years, and the committee is recommending that the union make it a more formal program.
Other highlights of the organizing report include:
- Building affiliate capacity. The AFT will work with affiliates to connect the importance of new and internal organizing to success in bargaining, political and legislative effectiveness, and more.
- Outreach to new and nontraditional constituencies. This would include charter school teachers and school personnel, part-time and adjunct higher education faculty, graduate student employees, early childhood educators, substitute teachers and members of professional associations.
- Maximizing innovations in technology. This means developing effective database and record-keeping programs, communications networks and other technology to assist the union’s organizing agenda.
- Effective communications. AFT organizer training must include an emphasis on one-on-one communications (e.g., home visits, work-site visits, community outreach contacts), as well as templates, fliers and ready-made content for use by affiliates in organizing campaigns or communications efforts.
Coming to a high school near you
High school reform, redesign and accountability have taken a central role in the national debate over education. These are issues high on the agenda of the AFT’s No Child Left Behind task force, which will be evaluating different proposals for high school improvement based on their potential for generating constructive change in public education.
Under study is the National Governors Association’s (NGA) 10-point plan for improving high schools. Among its aims are defining a rigorous curriculum for all high school students, providing additional help for students at risk of dropping out, and creating statewide common-course agreements so that college-level work in high school counts toward a college degree. The plan was featured in February at a Washington, D.C., summit on high school redesign, which the AFT took part in. Also topping the agenda at the summit, sponsored by the NGA and the education advocacy group Achieve Inc., was the “smaller school” movement in high schools through groups such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
President Bush also addressed high schools in his State of the Union Message on Feb. 1 and unveiled a $1.5 billion high school initiative a week later in his 2006 federal budget proposal. Early indications are the Bush plan will focus on more testing and more stringency regarding graduation rates; money for the effort is likely to be shifted from existing education programs.
