The education reform compromise heard round the US
To fix New Haven’s failing schools, the teachers union and mayor forged a rare compromise – a model for school districts and unions across the country in how to confront major challenges facing public education, without blaming each other, resisting change, or fighting in the streets.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten speaks during a 'Monitor Breakfast' at the St. Regis Hotel on Dec. 4, 2013 in Washington. Op-ed contributor Melissa Bailey writes: In New Haven, 'Ms. Weingarten sought to prove that unions could be part of the solution to improving schools.'
Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor
In 2009, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) was reeling from a bitter dispute with Michelle Rhee, the Washington, D.C., schools chancellor, over teacher evaluations. From the mayor's office in New Haven, Conn., John DeStefano watched the melee. He called Randi Weingarten, the union president, and suggested she come to New Haven to try a different approach.
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The conflict reflected a national divide: Members of the school accountability movement blame teachers unions for perpetuating educational failure by upholding rigid work rules and protecting poor-performing teachers. Unions counter that reformers have scapegoated teachers and squashed good teaching with high-stakes testing. In that contentious climate, Mayor DeStefano was keen to avoid the battle he'd seen play out in Washington; Ms. Weingarten sought to prove that unions could be part of the solution to improving schools. They formed a partnership that would become the basis of a significant school reform effort in New Haven – and a nationally watched case study in labor-management collaboration.
DeStefano didn't start out trying to collaborate. He first hit the state capitol on a quest to end teacher tenure and create more charter schools. But legislators balked, in part because DeStefano didn't have support from his local union. Defeated, he looked for a solution back home. He didn't want to ruin a trusting relationship with his teachers by "jamming" reform on them, as Ms. Rhee had done. And he saw an advantage to getting broader buy-in. So he enlisted Weingarten in crafting a compromise.
AFT staff members flew to New Haven to help local union president David Cicarella work out a blueprint for school reform through a collective bargaining agreement. While he bristled at DeStefano's early proposals, Mr. Cicarella kept an open mind. Cicarella never liked how unions reflexively "push back," he said. Cicarella knew big changes were coming, and "we wanted to be part of it."
Compromise wins the day
Cicarella and DeStefano agreed the teacher evaluation system was broken and work rules were