VOL. 37, NO. 4 | WINTER 2013–2014 www.aft.org /ae How Not to Go It Alone WAYS COLLABORATION CAN STRENGTHEN EDUCATION WHERE WE STAND PLAN NOW TO ATTEND THE AFT’S 16TH ANNUAL CENTER FORSchool Improvement LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE NEW YORK CITY | JANUARY 23–26, 2014 The American Federation of Teachers Center for School Improvement and the United Federation of Teachers Teacher Center have partnered to deliver an institute on facilitating school improvement through labor-management collaboration that results in higher student achievement. PARTICIPATING TEAMS INCLUDE: • School-level union representatives, • District personnel responsible for principals, members of school- facilitating school improvement improvement teams, and individuals in multiple schools jointly identified by with day-to-day responsibility for the district and union supporting school-level redesign • Members and community leaders • Union leadership or staff assigned to of district school-improvement teams support redesign at both the school and district levels To register online, go to www.aft.org/issues/schoolreform/csi/institute.cfm. Questions? Email [email protected]. WHERE WE STAND Pushing Forward Together RANDI WEINGARTEN, President, American Federation of Teachers I HAVE SEEN LABORMANAGEMENT those relationships are poor. Yet collabora- expert assistance to several school improve- relations at their best and at their worst. In tion is more the exception than the norm. ment eorts with collaboration at their core. fact, I’ve been party to both. In my early days Unfortunately, without partners on both We are ghting for the Common Core State Improvement as president of the United Federation of sides of the labor-management equation Standards to be implemented with, and not Teachers in New York City, I worked closely willing to put students at the forefront of imposed on, teachers, and for the needs of with the then-chancellor of the city’s public their concerns, signicant progress will be teachers and students to be rst and foremost schools to launch one of the most successful impeded, if not impossible. in the transition, not for the standards to be reform initiatives in the country, the Frankly, collaborating is harder than an obeisance to testing and data. Chancellor’s District. is group of several confrontation. Many people are more e AFT recently awarded our Prize for dozen struggling schools implemented comfortable with the us-versus-them Solution-Driven Unionism to unions that, many research-based strategies to raise posture. Consultation takes time. Consider- while breaking ground in very dierent achievement: class size reductions, a longer ing the point of view on the other side of the ways, are working with their management school day for tutoring and small-group negotiating table can require moving out of partners. remediation, a common curriculum aligned one’s comfort zone. And while some see We’re never going to eliminate conict or with high standards, common teacher compromise as capitulation, what it does is diering points of view in education or any planning time, and a school site labor- management collaborative governance structure. Students in these schools made rapid gains, far outpacing citywide gains in Collaboration creates trust reading and math. and buy-in, and focuses key ey continued to excel until a new chancellor took the reins of New York City parties on common goals. schools and dismantled the Chancellor’s District. His unilateral approach and an agenda that lacked evidence of eective- other important enterprise. And I don’t ness disintegrated the trust and common Randi Weingarten addresses business expect every superintendent and teachers’ and labor leaders at the Association for union president to declare, “We will not let purpose that had fostered progress in city a Better New York in New York City. schools. Sadly, the relationship between BRUCE GILBERT each other fail,” as they have in one district the chancellor and the teachers’ union leading the way in labor-management often was described using terms of enable the seeding of trust and good will, not collaboration. But even the most adversarial warfare—enemies, battles, casualties, and the ceding of authority and responsibility. labor-management counterparts can agree the like. I was drawn into the conict and It’s not easy, but it is eective. on at least one thing: that district-union was forced to become every bit the Collaboration fosters the conditions for discord feeds into the criticism that public combatant the chancellor was. transformative change. It creates trust and education is dysfunctional. If we can’t repair ose pitched battles might have made buy-in. It allows for innovation and risk- our working relationships, how will we ever great headlines, but they drew time and taking. It focuses key parties on common earn the necessary credibility, and the attention away from moving the New York goals. It harnesses the expertise and perspec- condence of our communities, for them to City school system toward the goal of tive of crucial players. It’s a key characteristic invest in and maintain high-quality, helping all children. in virtually every successful school and equitable public schools? is shift from the union and the district school district I have observed. It’s what has e work to reclaim the promise of public as allies to antagonists permeated nearly all moved reform forward in Lowell, Massachu- education starts with creating collaborative, matters aecting public education in New setts; New Haven, Connecticut; Union City, safe, and welcoming environments for York. Progress in city schools stalled and New Jersey; and elsewhere. teaching and learning. In this issue, we are even reversed. Creating a positive labor-management delighted to highlight the examples of Research, not just my own experience, climate has become an AFT priority. e AFT schools and districts that demonstrate that makes it clear that students and educators has sponsored numerous conferences that when adults engage, together, in the hard benet greatly from eective partnerships either require or encourage parties to attend work of solving problems, rather than between teachers’ unions and school in labor-management teams. e AFT winning arguments, our children and our districts, and they pay a heavy price when Innovation Fund provides resources and communities benet. AMERICAN EDUCATOR | WINTER 2013–2014 1 Download this issue for free at www.aft.org/ae. VOL. 37, NO. 4 | WINTER 2013–2014 www.aft.org /ae OUR MISSION e American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public 3 Supporting Labor- services for our students, their families Management Collaboration and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through 4 Cultivating Collaboration community engagement, organizing, The Science behind Thriving collective bargaining and political Labor-Management activism, and especially through the work ourwork members our members do. do. Relationships 22 Strengthening Partnerships B G A How Communication and RANDI WEINGARTEN President Collaboration Contribute to Rigorous studies show that LORRETTA JOHNSON eective public schools are built on School Improvement Secretary-Treasurer strong, collaborative relationships B S A. R FRANCINE LAWRENCE Executive Vice President between administrators and Executive Vice President School districts that foster collab- AMY M.HIGHTOWER HIGHTOWER teachers. Such partnerships hold orative partnerships have common Editor more promise for meaningful characteristics, including open JENNIFER DUBIN reform than top-down policies Assistant Editor lines of communication and made without teacher input. ROGER GLASS supportive infrastructures. MIKE ROSE Contributing WritersEditors Findings from one such district 10 Community Building JANE FELLER show the strong link between in Cincinnati SEANCopyeditor LISHANSKY partnerships and increased SEANCopyeditors LISHANSKY student performance. JENNIFEREditorial Assistant CHANG JENNIFERProduction CHANG Manager MICHELLEProduction FURMANManager 29 Moving Meriden MICHELLEGraphic Designer FURMAN Graphic Designer In Connecticut, a Road Map JENNIFER BERNEY JENNIFERProduction BERNEY Coordinator for Union-District Relations AMERICANProduction CoordinatorEDUCATOR (ISSN 0148-432X, USPS 008-462) B J D AMERICANis published EDUCATOR quarterly by (ISSN the American0148-432X, Federation USPS 008-462) of isTeachers, published 555 quarterly New Jersey by theAve. American NW, Washington, Federation DC of e labor-management partner- Teachers,20001-2079. 555 Phone: New Jersey 202-879-4400 Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001-2079www.aft.org Phone: 202-879-4400 ship in Meriden Public Schools has Letterswww.aft.org to the editor may be sent to the address above brought teachers and administra- Lettersor to [email protected] to the editor. may be sent to the address above tors together to focus on support- AMERICANor to [email protected] EDUCATOR .cannot assume responsibility for ing educators so they can improve AMERICANunsolicited manuscripts.EDUCATOR cannot assume responsibility for Pleaseunsolicited allow manuscripts. a minimum of four weeks for copyright student achievement. 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