A third way on education reform
Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio vowed to bring New York’s “two cities” together. When it comes to education, he’s got his work cut out. The city — like the nation — is locked in a bitter fight over education that leaves little room for cooperation.
I’m optimistic that the mayor-elect, as an experienced political organizer and negotiator, can unite the two sides and do what’s best for our kids, teachers and schools. But to turn the corner, he’ll need to drop some of the more polarizing talk of his campaign.
For 12 years, Mayor Bloomberg successfully led the reform charge. Like or hate his reforms, you must acknowledge successes: Parents are now better informed than ever before. Students — particularly those in low-income neighborhoods — have more high-quality options. Graduation rates are up. And teacher pay and benefits are among the highest in the country.
It wasn’t without controversy (real change never is). Replacing chronically failing schools with new alternatives organized community protests. Strong support for charter schools left an impression of favoritism. And the expansive use of data to rate schools, teachers and students generated opposition that could derail real accountability.
De Blasio is expected to roll back Bloomberg's signature policies. Not surprisingly, partisans are gearing up to defend turf or reclaim lost ground. Either charters are still the answer or they’re killing neighborhood schools. Reformers are privatizers or the union is blocking progress. The problem is bad teachers or the problem is poverty.
This is the same us-vs.-them fight we’ve had for more than a decade.
Instead of perpetuating or even escalating the reform war, the mayor-elect has an opportunity to gather the tribes and develop a “postreform” education agenda that combines the best that both sides have to offer.
Proven strategies already exist. Some can be found at University Prep Charter High School, which I helped to open in 2008 in collaboration with the United Federation of Teachers. It’s located in the South Bronx and enrolls neighborhood kids. Nearly 90% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. More than 10% are still mastering English when they enroll. Just as many have learning disabilities.
University Prep is also one of the best high schools in the city. The city gave it straight A’s on its report card. Every student in the Class of 2013 graduated in four years and was accepted to college, 20% of them with an Advanced Regents Diploma.
There is no secret to our success. We have a thoughtful leader who listens to his teachers, some of the best you’ll find in this work. We run a longer day and year. We provide intensive support for struggling learners and expect the best from everyone.
It’s a charter, and it enjoys necessary autonomy from the bureaucracy. And we’re accountable: to our parents, our government authorizer and for our results.
And guess what? Our teachers are unionized, too. Through our UFT partnership, we negotiated a thin, schoolbased contract directly with the UFT and the teachers.
At about 30 pages, it’s shorter than most private-sector HR manuals. It includes an untimed professional day and a just-cause standard of due process — instead of tenure. Salaries are 20% above the city teacher average. And teachers have ample opportunities to have a say in their work.
These are replicable practices with plenty that the education factions can agree on. The mayor-elect should welcome the chance to play peacemaker and expand on the work at University Prep.
Compared to unions in other large districts, such as the one we have in Los Angeles, where I live, the UFT should be ap- plauded for thinking beyond the one-sizefits-all agreement where important decisions are negotiated downtown and imposed on 1,700 schools.
Those old contracts — a new one will get negotiated soon — are relics from a bygone era. They stand in the way of bottom-up, teacher-led innovation.
I hope the mayor-elect will also recognize the good work of many charter schools. A number have become neighborhood institutions, as cherished as the nearby district schools. Those that embrace their public obligations and carry a fair share of responsibility should be supported and celebrated, not penalized by having to pay rent or maligned as profiteers.
Students, families and communities are tired of the constant fighting over school reform. Marches and demonstrations may offer a great education in political activism, but they don’t prepare children with the skills and knowledge they need.
De Blasio can end the war and ensure that every child has access to a great school when he embraces creative solutions and refuses to choose sides.
How de Blasio can really lead