Local Teachers once again brave the cold to help out the local food pantry!

What is a “Weingarten” and Why Do I Care?

In the year and a half since I was elected AFT president, I have had the opportunity to travel around the country and talk with countless AFT leaders and members. It is clear from these conversations that our affiliates are working to improve public education and that many are taking the lead in these efforts, sometimes in very tough environments. We can be proud of the work we’ve done to secure for all children the education we would want for our own children.

 Our members know what it takes to improve education, but too often their voices are not heard, much less heeded. They need their union to be in the forefront of the fight to make sure teachers are listened to and given access to the tools they and their students need to succeed. As you and our members know, implementing real solutions requires real work, not just rhetoric. Too often, the positive contributions teachers make are ignored or lost in the noise chamber created by those who want to affix blame rather than work toward solutions. The argument we hear so often—that all the problems in our schools are the result of "bad teachers"—not only obscures the fact that "ineffective teachers" are far outnumbered by those who are successful, but fails to recognize that to improve public education, we must improve public education systems.

 On Jan. 12, I will give a speech at the National Press Club that lays out proposals to provide teachers the wherewithal—the tools, time and trust—they need to help their students succeed, including offering new approaches to teacher evaluation and labor-management relationships. Central to this address will be the announcement of "A Continuous Improvement Model for Teacher Development and Evaluation." This document is designed to provide a framework for local affiliates and school districts to help guide conversations and negotiations around the key elements necessary for ongoing teacher development and effective evaluation. The framework was developed by an ad hoc committee of AFT members and local leaders, with input from leading experts in education. It reaffirms our call for professional teaching standards that spell out what teachers should know and be able to do, and that ensure principals meet their responsibilities in implementation. It also recognizes the potential to use "data" in the way it should be used: to pull together multiple measures of outcomes on a continuous basis to inform and improve both teaching and learning. But the framework also broadens the discussion about quality to focus how to develop good teaching, not simply how to evaluate or assess it. The executive summary of the document will be made available on Jan. 12, and the full report will be released shortly thereafter. The AFT also will have a new private Web site beginning Jan. 12, which will give local leaders access to resources and help them gather ideas on how to advocate for members’ success in the classroom.

 We know we can’t improve schools alone, that we need to work with community leaders, parents, administrators, elected officials and others. All of us—members and leaders—must help strengthen those relationships, so together we can address the real issues in our schools. At the national level, we’ve begun this work with the launch of the AFT’s "Building Futures Together" campaign. In just the last couple of weeks, simply by asking members why they teach, hundreds of teachers from across the country have told us their stories and voiced their steadfast commitment to high-quality public education. We’ve launched a Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/AFTunion) to create an open conversation with members about the importance of their work. www.futurestogether.org, to highlight the work they do. We also are running online advertisements this week on multiple Web sites, including Huffington Post and Politico. The ads feature photos of real AFT members with the message that they teach to inspire their students, and that they care about the futures of our children. In the coming weeks, we will be expanding on these efforts.

 We want the public to hear our members’ inspiring stories, so we’ve launched a new public Web page,

 Last year, beginning with a back-to-school tour, we featured a number of AFT locals. Building on that, I plan to continue to travel to AFT locals across the country to focus public attention on the vital work we do, and to meet with members and leaders to listen to and learn from the people who know best how to educate our kids.

 We have always been willing to take on the tough issues and lead the real fight to improve the quality of public education for every child. I thank you for your tireless and ongoing participation in this effort.

Randi Weingarten
AFT President

MONTPELIER - January 6, 2010:  United Professions leaders joined more than two hundred Vermonters from the Vermont Worker's Center "Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign (HCHR)," to fill the Cedar Creek room at the Statehouse today to deliver thousands of postcards to the leadership of the State Legislature and to take action on the two single-payer healthcare bills, S.88 and H.100, and mend the broken healthcare system this year.

Students are our No. 1 priority, Perelman Faculty Association says in a statement of Where We Stand. Read the full statement.

As the California legislature passes its current round of education "reforms," I think it is appropriate to allow CFT president Marty Hittleman an opportunity to respond:  cft.org/index.php/cft-presidents-page/515-teaching-reforms-should-be-based-on-research-and-experience-.html

These newest reforms are not based on sound research nor do they address some of the needs at the lowest performing schools.  The $700 million the state would quality for under "Race to the Top" is only a drop in the bucket for what our state needs for real education reform.  While these reforms allow charter schools to replace some public schools, the legislators failed to acknowledge the results from the latest study from Stanford university which points out that charter schools are unable to outperform public schools in most instances. 

Education reforms need to be based on reserach and experience.

On November 16, 2009, at 6 pm, early educators from four centers in the area had a meeting at Mickey D's in Field's Corner and enjoyed free beverages and snacks on MECEU and got some updates on the campaign. Click the link above to read more!

Marietta English, President, Baltimore Teachers Union

An opinion editorial by AFT-WV president Judy Hale, as printed in the Charleston Daily Mail.

by Samantha Stainburn is a must read for every adjunct.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03strategy-t.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y