American Federation of Teachers: “Reinvest, Don’t Disinvest”

“Let’s choose to advance, not retreat,” said Randi Weingarten, the newly elected president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), who held a press conference on Education and the Economy today. Weingarten continued, “with the exception of vouchers, which siphon scarce resources from public schools, n issue should be off the table, provided it is good for children and fair to teachers.”

The mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg (I-N.Y.), enthusiastically introduced Weingarten as a woman who brought great educational reform to new York City, increased teachers salaries across the board by 43% since 2002, eliminated forced transfers to more challenging schools, and balanced out the number of experienced teachers at each school.

Weingarten said the federal No Child Left Behind Act “has become a stand-in for real discussions at the state and national levels about a robust education policy that prepares our children for the 21st century,” and offered several suggestions for education reform. These included providing universal early childhood education, expanding teacher induction, and having schools offer social services throughout the day such as child care, night classes, dental and medical care, and after school services.

Weingarten also supports teacher tenure, but said it isn’t “a guarantee of a job for life.” She supports peer monitoring and review programs in order to ensure tenured teacher quality. In regard to differentiated pay, Weingarten supports paying more to teachers who take on additional responsibilities, work in hard-to-staff schools or subjects, and who are mentors for their fellow teachers.