Calling the Teachers' Union's Bluff in Rhode Island
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There was big news yesterday out of Rhode Island's Central Falls. In February, Superintendent Fran Gallo fired every teacher at Central Falls High School after they refused to get on board with her efforts to transform the poorly performing school — the teachers had previously embraced the transformation model, because it would protect their jobs, but then decided they didn't want any measures that would, you know, actually transform the school. But yesterday, the teachers' union acceded to Gallo's demands, and, in return, Gallo backed off on the mass firing (or, as she had called it, "turnaround").
Some observers might regard Gallo's move as a disappointing reversion to powder-puff school management, especially given her weak-kneed press release stuffed with assurances that all the union ever wanted was "what is best for our students." But such concerns are misplaced. Gallo's play shows how s
