Professional development: A tool for building the union
 

Professional development is a proven tool for building the AFT—its membership and the teaching profession—a panel of union members from Dallas, New Orleans and New York told QuEST participants.

The need for professional development always has existed, but today’s changing standards and scientific research make such programs an integral part of a teacher’s effectiveness, which ultimately translates into higher student achievement, panelists said at the plenary session, “Using Professional Issues To Build the Union.”

The job of the union isn’t just about negotiating for salary and working conditions, said Aminda Gentile, director of the United Federation of Teachers’ Teacher Center in New York City. People want to be successful as professionals as well.

And the key to effective professional development programs is tailoring them to the ever-changing needs of a particular school, and offering courses that are relevant to teachers at all levels.

Aimee Bolender, president of the Alliance/AFT Dallas, said their union-run professional development program has drawn 1,000 new members to their ranks—dispelling misconceptions that the union is only for disgruntled teachers, and establishing the union’s reputation as an organization of professionals.

“We took the union into the classroom and tapped into a broad spectrum of people who never thought the union was for them,” said Bolender.

Aggressive lobbying in New York and Dallas has brought union-run programs to teachers, and AFT’s innovation within its own Educational Research and Dissemination program has established the union as a leader in the professional development field.

One of the AFT’s newest approaches to teacher training is the union’s Professional Development Online program, which has piloted two courses so far on beginning-of-the-year classroom management and foundations of effective teaching.

“AFT has had a long-standing commitment to professional development, and it has committed the resources to making our jobs easier,” said Brenda Mitchell, president of United Teachers of New Orleans, who moderated the session. “Let’s give [the union] a round of applause for that.”

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