By Cynthia Figueroa and Darren Spielman
It’s not every day that we can point to a labor negotiation as a great opportunity for children.
We are members of the Coalition for Effective Teaching, a coalition of the city’s education, business, and community leaders who want the public to know that, while the discussion about the Philadelphia School District contract likely will focus on money and budget issues, the negotiations also present a unique opportunity to boost the effectiveness of teaching and learning in our schools.
By committing to new union and management practices, including those that reward teachers and principals based on the success of their students rather than only their time on the job – especially for students in the city’s most disadvantaged schools – we can make real progress. We are calling on the parties to seize this opportunity to put children, teaching, and learning first.