Another teachers union ding for Arne Duncan
The American Federation of Teachers approved a resolution this afternoon calling for Education Secretary Arne Duncan to resign if he does not improve under a plan to be implemented by President Barack Obama.
The “improvement plan” would include the requirement that Duncan enact the funding and equity recommendations of the Equity Commission’s “Each and Every Child” report; change the No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top “test-and-punish” accountability system to a “support-and-improve” model; and “promote rather than question” teachers and school staff.
Continue ReadingEducation Department spokeswoman Dorie Nolt said in an email to POLITICO that Duncan is “hopeful” that he and AFT can “continue to work together.” Nolt added, “the transformation that educators and policymakers are leading to prepare all students for college and careers is incredibly difficult, and too often the adults fight about how to best help the kids.”
AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement sent to POLITICO that the amendment “is basically saying, ‘Enough is enough.’ Teachers are evaluated and their future livelihoods are linked to that. And when they fall short, they should have a chance to improve. And that’s what this special order represents.”
The plan was laid out in an amendment tacked onto a resolution codifying AFT’s “Commitment to Fighting Back and Fighting Forward” on labor and education issues.
The AFT member who introduced the amendment cited Duncan’s response to Hurricane Katrina and the Vergara v. California case, and said Duncan’s programs “blackmailed” cash-strapped
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/arne-duncan-american-federation-of-teachers-108854.html#ixzz37S3fbH8T