Collaboration and Contract Make a Difference for Students
June 20, 2011 by Amy Buffenbarger
Filed under PSC Featured News, Union-Led Efforts
By Amy Buffenbarger
Marjorie Punter made a shocking discovery two years ago on her first day of school at Belmont: there were no textbooks for her students.
“It was devastating to find out how far behind we were,” said Punter, who teaches 11th and 12th grade literature in the special education program at the Dayton, Ohio high school.
With 42 years of teaching experience, Punter had plenty of knowledge and tricks up her sleeve to get by and help her students learn for a few weeks. But she knew these students needed books.
Punter took the textbook problem to Principal David White, who was new to Belmont at the time. White made phone call after phone call, each time being told Belmont couldn’t get textbooks for the special education students. That’s when the Dayton Education Association(DEA) got involved.
“When I walk into a classroom and there’s no books, no curriculum and it’s basically a babysitting room and those are the kids that need the most and they’re getting the least, then I have a moral obligation to fight for it,” said White. “So that’s where we had to actually go back door through the union to get what we needed.”
“I went to my union and said, ‘Now what do I do?’” said Punter. “They said you’re going to file a grievance