District Administration - March 2010 - (Page 29)

After New Haven Federation of Teachers, the schools’ teachers union, and the district agreed to a bold contract, leaders such as New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo, union president David Cicarella, and AFT President Randi Weingarten, supported it. the negotiations in New Haven that much more noteworthy. Weingarten and Rose have been promoting programs aimed at similar breakthroughs around the country. “There’s starting to be a recognition of working together rather than fighting in the sandbox,” Weingarten says. “That’s why New Haven was so important. It was a culture change where labor and management are now interlocked in order to help all kids succeed.” Weingarten drove the point home again in January at the AFT meeting in Washington, D.C., when she offered four approaches to quality teaching and better schools, including unveiling a new template for teacher development, discussing a new approach to due process, and changing the labor-management relationship. “I’d like to suggest a new path forward toward a 21st-century education system, a serious and comprehensive reform plan to transform our schools, ensure great teaching and prepare our children for producwww.DistrictAdministration.com tive, successful and meaningful lives,” she stated in her speech. She also mentioned the results of a question to AFT members last summer: “When your union deals with issues affecting teaching quality and teachers’ Fla., are working toward the new path. An additional number of districts, including those in New York City, Memphis and Denver, have already made breakthroughs with their unions on the controversial front of merit pay for teach- “That’s why New Haven was so important. It was a culture change where labor and management are now interlocked in order to help all kids succeed.” —Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers rights, which should be the higher priority—working for professional teaching standards and good teaching, or defining the job rights of teachers who face disciplinary action?” By a margin of 4 to 1, AFT members chose the former as the higher priority. Weingarten mentioned how unions in Pittsburgh and Hillsborough County, ers. District of Columbia Public Schools is trying to implement a similar program. The approach has been endorsed by President Barack Obama and is touted frequently by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who recently highlighted 36 districts and union chapters around the country that have taken innovative approaches to compensation. March 2010 29 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2010

District Administration - March 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Curriculum Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Toward a More Perfect Union
The Moxie of Kathy Cox
Logging On to Learn
Battling Sexual Abuse
Supervisor’s Opinion
Problem/Solution
Crisis Response
Product Focus
New Products
Tech Disruptions

District Administration - March 2010