Last week, the Center for American Progress published a paper discussing an alternate path to school system reform: collaboration of stakeholders through labor-management partnerships among teachers’ unions, school administrators, and school boards.
The authors base their recommendations on six examples of how teachers’ unions have been critical to improving public education systems in collaboration with administrators. The six districts studied have been recognized by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as having a “lengthy track record of innovation,” and were chosen for this study because they “appear to have institutionalized a long-term collaborative partnership between administration and the local teachers’ union…”
The researchers spent extensive time talking to teachers, administrators, union officials, board members, and superintendents; reviewed archival data such as contracts, memoranda of understanding, student performance data, and internal reports. Based on their study, the researchers developed several conclusions and recommendations for local unions and districts who wish to engage in collaboration for school reform and improvement:
1. Education reform and improvement must been seen as a systems problem.
2. Shared decision-making must take place at both the district- and school-levels.
3. Successful union-management collaboration must focus on substantive areas affecting the quality of teaching or student achievement.
4. Peer-to-peer networks must be developed to facilitate ongoing professional development and support.
5. Districts must develop strong cultures of collaboration that inform approaches to planning, decision-making and hiring decisions.
6. Shared learning opportunities are critical to building and sustaining long-term collaboration.
7. Stability in leadership (union leaders, superintendents, or both) benefits school reform and improvement.
8. Collaborative systems require the full support of school boards.
9. Local unions should take advantage of the resources, assistance, support and training available at the national or state-level unions.
10. Community support is critical to institutionalizing collaboration.
To read the full report, visit http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/07/collaboration.html
