Unions Blocking Meaningful Education Reform
by Connie Sadowski
The Chicken Licken child’s book depicts a fearful and ill-informed chick running around screaming hysterically, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling,” but discovers instead the sky is the limit. Similarly, teacher’s unions are attempting to create hysteria about Charter schools. Unions are ignoring key issues while blocking meaningful education reform.
The Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers would like to impose its own rules on the Charter School approval process regardless of rules set forth by the legislature. Like Henny Penny, the Federation wants to create asense that charter school applicants are not properly vetted by criticizing the application process of the Texas State Board Of Education’s Committee on School Initiatives.
All schools must be held to a high standard. The Federation cannot impose its own rules for charter approval. It unfairly degrades charters, their teachers and students.
According to the SBOE committee agenda for August 30-31, the charter applicants “have qualified for interviews by submitting complete applications that received an average required score by an external review committee.” Fifteenopen enrollment charter school applicants, in addition to the extensive application itself, had 55 minutes to explain their proposed charter schools.
The Federation wants to mount an attack on these applicants. They are not happy because the applications were not made public. The Federation’s Hotline says, “it’s hard to gauge the real level of community support for or in opposition to a charter application when there is no real public notice that a particular applicant’s bid for a charter is coming up for SBOE consideration.” Is the vetting process set by the legislature, or the 60,000 students on charter school waitlists,not enough for the Federation to know there is plenty of community support?
The Texas Charter School Association, a training and support service for charter operators says, “We’re glad to see new charter applicants and are confident the SBOE will make wise decisions to help add more quality charters to the landscape in Texas. More options for parents and students only creates a better future for everyone.”
The moral of this story for teachers, parents and students is teachers unions create an atmosphere of unnecessary hysteria. But just as Chicken Licken learned we can be of good courage and should not believe everything the Federation or other teacher’s unions say.
The Federation’s leadership must become relevant to teachers. Reverse your attack mode and create a new agenda. How about showing indignation for how teachers earn far less in salary and benefits than their over-bloated central administration? Why not get hysterical because only 50 cents of every education dollar makes it to the classroom?
Teacher’s unions leadership, you are failing. It’s time to make the grade and step up or step aside. The sky is not falling and your current agenda is holding our teachers and students down.
Read more about charters on the Texas Charter School Association site
http://txcharterschools.org/
http://txcharterschools.org/
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