Local Labor Management Relationships as a Vehicle to Advance Reform: Findings from the U.S. Department of Education's Labor Management Conference
Author: Eckert, Jonathan
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Partnerships in Education,Case Studies,School Districts,Public Schools,Charter Schools,Teacher Evaluation,Teacher Salaries,Career Development,Educational Innovation,Superintendents,Boards of Education,Unions,Personnel Management,Strategic Planning,Administrative Organization,Sustainability

In February 2011, the U.S. Department of Education (ED)--along with co-sponsors from the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the Council of the Great City Schools, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association--brought together over 150 school districts at a conference called &quot;Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor Management Collaboration.&quot; In order to attend, a team composed of the superintendent, the president of the local board of education, and the president of the local teacher organization all made a commitment to work together to create or deepen a labor management relationship focused on advancing student learning. Twelve districts noteworthy for the partnership of their district, board, and teacher organization facilitated conversations with district leaders and others in attendance at the conference. Individual district background and profiles of the progress made improving student performance results as well as a summary of the significant policy progress the collaborating partners have made together can be found at the U.S. Department of Education Web site http://www.ed.gov/labor-management-collaboration/conference/district-background-information. The 12 districts were: (1) ABC Unified School District, California; (2) Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland; (3) Denver Public Schools, Colorado; (4) Douglas County School District, Colorado; (5) Green Dot Public Schools, California; (6) Helena Public Schools, Montana; (7) Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida; (8) Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland; (9) New Haven Public Schools, Connecticut; (10) Plattsburgh City School District, New York; (11) Independent School District 15-St. Francis, Minnesota; and (12) Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, North Carolina. In the case studies that follow, the authors attempt to capture what these noteworthy local partnerships have accomplished and, more importantly, how they accomplished it. ED commissioned present and former Teaching Ambassador Fellows, teachers selected for one-year leadership assignments, to conduct this work. The fellows used interviews, document analysis, and digital audio recordings of presentations made by district leaders to learn from the opportunities and challenges, the successes and missteps of these 12 district partnerships. The authors hope these case studies will stimulate and inform conversation. One of their purposes is to describe the work of districts known for making early headway in the field. By so doing, more districts will be able to take up a more collaborative approach. Another purpose of these case studies is to demonstrate to leaders who do not sit at the local labor-management table, what is being done across the country, so they can consider how to encourage and accelerate this movement. Individual case studies contain figures and footnotes.