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ED to unions, districts: Can’t we all just get along?
First-ever meeting on labor-management relations in schools aims for more collaboration to improve student achievement
Raising student achievement won’t be possible without school district labor and management teams working together, Sec. Duncan said.
Despite frequent reports of labor-management strife in the nation’s schools, there are many school systems in which teachers and district leaders are working together to improve public education—and some of the best examples of this type of collaboration were on display during a first-of-its-kind national conference in Denver Feb. 15-16.
Organized by the federal Education Department (ED), the event—called “Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration”—brought together teams of superintendents, school board presidents, and union presidents from 150 school systems around the country to explore how all sides can successfully navigate what are often quite contentious, politically charged issues surrounding school reform … and ultimately act in the best interest of students.
In opening remarks, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said raising student achievement won’t be possible without school district labor and management teams working together.
“I know it takes courage and conviction to publicly commit to working together with groups that are sometimes portrayed as adversaries, rather than as allies,” Duncan said.
He added: “School boards, administrators, and teacher leaders face different challenges—from setting policy and approving budgets to hiring staff, negotiating agreements, and ensuring due process. Yet all stand or fall together on the quality of student learning.”
For more on school labor-management relations:
How to raise student achievement through better labor-management collaboration
Wisconsin protests grow as teachers balk at proposed legislation
Editorial: Public school employees under attack
For more on school reform:
Expert: Federal school reform plan is wrong
School Reform Center at eSN Online
The conference was held at a particularly apt time, as a growing wave of anti-labor sentiment has fueled tension between teachers’ unions and other education stakeholders.
State legislatures in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Tennessee are among those considering new bills that would eliminate or severely curtail teachers’ collective bargaining rights in negotiating contracts. Wyoming lawmakers are entertaining a measure to end teacher tenure, which would allow the immediate suspension or firing of teachers for any reason not expressly prohibited by law. And New Jersey is one of many cash-strapped states looking to cut public employees’ pensions to help balance their budgets.
Despite the potential for new conflicts these developments have created, “President Obama and I are convinced that labor and management can collaborate to solve many of our nation’s enduring educational challenges,” Duncan said. “And we believe that progress more often follows tough-minded collaboration than tough-minded confrontation.”
One Response to ED to unions, districts: Can’t we all just get along?
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glenetske
February 21, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I am a tech director in Wisconsin. Labor and School Management are working together to stop the assault on school workers and school budgets. Our governor wants to eliminate not only hard fought for benefits but also 900 million from our already strapped school budgets. This certainly will not help students! Wisconsin teachers have agreed to the financial reforms but not to taking away our voice where it really counts, in collective bargaining where we can voice our professional opinions on class size, technology integration, student behaviors, and etc. Not all issues are as simple as just getting along. We all have to voice our concerns and stand up for what we believe in where student education is concerned. Our students will be harmed by these cuts. What is happening in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana will eventually happen all over the U.S. Technology integration is already considered a luxury in Wisconsin. I fear it might not exist at all in a few short years.
glenetske
February 21, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I am a tech director in Wisconsin. Labor and School Management are working together to stop the assault on school workers and school budgets. Our governor wants to eliminate not only hard fought for benefits but also 900 million from our already strapped school budgets. This certainly will not help students! Wisconsin teachers have agreed to the financial reforms but not to taking away our voice where it really counts, in collective bargaining where we can voice our professional opinions on class size, technology integration, student behaviors, and etc. Not all issues are as simple as just getting along. We all have to voice our concerns and stand up for what we believe in where student education is concerned. Our students will be harmed by these cuts. What is happening in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana will eventually happen all over the U.S. Technology integration is already considered a luxury in Wisconsin. I fear it might not exist at all in a few short years.