Union feels pressure for school autonomy
President wonders how contract hurts student success
By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 7, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Kim Ursetta says teachers have put forth many reform ideas.
A Denver school that could make history by breaking free of district and union rules still needs one more stamp of approval - and it may not come easy.
Tuesday, the 22-member governing board of the Denver teachers' union may vote in closed session on whether to waive contract rules for Bruce Randolph School in north Denver.
Already, Denver Public Schools board members have given an enthusiastic thumbs up to the Randolph bid for autonomy. Local foundations have pledged more than $100,000 to make it work.
And 67 percent of Randolph teachers in the once-floundering school have said they need more freedom to increase student achievement.
For Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, the pressure is on to get a yes vote. She talked recently about Randolph's bid for autonomy. Her answers have been edited for space and clarity.
Where does the union stand on the autonomy plan?
Most importantly, we recognize what a great job the teachers and staff at Bruce Randolph have done. We still have some questions about what exactly they're asking for. If there are things impeding student achievement at Bruce Randolph, we want to make sure we can remove those barriers for Bruce Randolph and every other Denver public school.
What happens if the union's governing board says no?
If we were to vote no, then it doesn't go through. The contract does have a provision for waivers, and we have approved waivers in the past. Whenever we've approved a waiver, it has to be approved by both parties. They could come back to us, and we could agree on a different version of the autonomy agreement.
Why do you think the plan has generated so much attention?
I think it's because Bruce Randolph has shown success, and people want to replicate success.
Does the union's hesitancy on this issue mean you're out of touch with the need for reform in DPS?
No. I think we have put forth many ideas on reform. Half of the committee that reviewed the Denver Plan - the district's strategic reform plan - was composed of teachers appointed by DCTA. We put forth our "Promoting School Success" plan, so I do believe we embrace change and we are trying to find ways to increase student achievement.
An analysis of the plan by union attorneys claimed teachers would lose numerous job protections if it passed. A DPS attorney called those claims misleading and overreaching. How do you respond to critics who called those "dirty tactics"?
I don't feel they were dirty tactics at all. Teachers requested a legal opinion from our association attorneys, and our attorneys answered the questions and put the answers in writing. It was based on the first version of the autonomy agreement, not the subsequent versions.
I also asked several times for a meeting with the district and our attorneys to make sure we have the same interpretation and that has not happened.
Is the contract impeding progress in DPS schools?
We keep asking, "What in the contract is impeding student achievement?" and have not gotten a specific answer. As I said earlier, if there are things in the contract that are impeding student achievement, then we need to change them for everyone.
The only thing that has been mentioned is the teacher transfer process, and we currently have a joint (union-district) group working on redoing the entire transfer process.
Most of what the proposal talks about are things that are controlled by the district. Allocation of funding is not under our purview. It's important to understand that a lot of what the Bruce Randolph staff is asking for is not in the contract.
Doesn't that make it easier for your board to approve the plan?
But the document they've given us does not say exactly what they want waived, and that's what we're hoping for. Our board of directors wants more specificity as to exactly what is impeding student achievement - so we can make changes for all teachers and students.
Is the union being unfairly scapegoated as blocking this reform?
I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there as to what exactly is in our contract. The union has absolutely no interest in blocking student achievement. Our goal is to increase student achievement for every child in Denver, and we are committed to working with the administration, with the school board, with community members, with parents, in order to make that happen.
Nancy Mitchell
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January 7, 2008
4:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
Brad writes:
The union want the dues from the teachers and they say they do care about the student but they don't. It is all about the money and if they lose one school they are worried about loosing more later on.
January 7, 2008
7:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
Theoldguy writes:
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the students and teachers were free to explore education and not be confined to the "one size fits all" mentality of the Public School System that has been foisted on America's big cities. Just going along to get along may have come to an end at this school. One can hope............
January 8, 2008
5:05 p.m.
Suggest removal
jane writes:
Brad, you have no idea what you are talking about. B.R. has one of the largest union % memberships of all DPS schools. They are very strong union members and they're not quitting the union. The majority of the autonomy that the school is seeking is from board policy that has nothing to do with the contract. My guess is the union won't have a problem with these waivers. They just haven't completed the process of filling out the paperwork for which policies they want waivers from. It's so weird that the Rocky is making a big deal out of this - the historic event is that the board gave waivers of board policy. The union gives waivers to the contract all the time. All the time. It's the board that rarely waives policy, not the union.