A National Teacher Union’s View of Community Engagement and Collaboration

• In Event: Joining Forces: The Potential of Union-Community Organization Collaborations

Abstract

The future of public education and our union stands at a critical crossroad. Supported by a web of national foundations, policy institutes, and key local and federal decision-makers, a market-based approach to the delivery of education is gaining strength across the country. From charter schools to pay-for-performance plans for teachers, this approach relies on competition and external rewards and consequences as the motivators for educational innovation and improved student achievement. It also seeks to eliminate the democratic underpinnings of public education by marginalizing or eliminating the voices of parent, community, and workers…and the power of our union.
There is a counterpoint to this narrative. It lies in the building of a political constituency with the power to demand, support and sustain reform that emphasizes research-based educational strategies, respect for the profession of teaching, the role of communities in constructing and carrying out reforms in their schools, and supports for students’ social and emotional needs. Most of all, the counterpoint lies in collaboration and relationship among key stakeholders—the parents of the children who attend struggling schools, and the teachers who work in them. Organized locally, in teacher unions and community organizations, these are the natural leaders of that constituency.

The national union is committed to encouraging and supporting stronger ties at the national, state and local levels between communities and the national union and its locals. Supported by a resolution that was passed at the national union’s 2010 convention, the union has initiated a Community Engagement Pilot training designed to provide local unions with the information, expertise and tools for building and sustaining ongoing ties with community partners/stakeholders/allies.

Too often, these groups and our union have operated in separate silos. We can no longer afford that separation and sometimes division. The challenge, and the necessity, for our union is to build new kinds of relationships with parent and community groups based on trust and respect, and a shared vision for our schools and communities. This new effort will require staff and resources to reach out across years of neglect and possible mistrust to establish relationships with parents and community leaders that lead to collection action.

In this presentation we will describe our work to support locals in building relationships with community partners generally and organized parent groups specifically. We will explore the practices and contexts facilitate or hinder collaboration, and describe how collaborations are supporting research-based, educationally sound reforms at the local level.

Author

• Michael Mulgrew, United Federation of Teachers - AFT