LAMPHERE FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT Michigan #1614
January 2007
Transfer Requests--Any LFT member that is interested in requesting a transfer for the next school year must make that request in writing by February 1st. A transfer is defined as "a relocation of teaching personnel to another building." Contractual language is located on page 20 of the contract. The letter should be sent to the Human Resources Office to Rita Lewis. Please send me a copy of your transfer request.
Elementary Teacher Reassignments--Elementary teachers who desire a change and/or subject reassignment within the building for the next school year should submit a letter to the Human Resources Office by March 1st. The statement should include the grade and/or subject reassignment which the teacher wishes to change to.
How Teachers Unions Aid Educational Quality-- A growing chorus is arguing that teachers unions and collective bargaining are obstacles to school improvement. In the Winter 2006-07 issue of the AFT's professional quarterly magazine, American Educator, that argument is addressed. The issue's lead author and education historian and former Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch, argues that the real obstacles to better schools are not unions but weak curriculum, mediocre school leadership, lack of resources, poor hiring and evaluation processes. Further she argues that unions provide a necessary check on administrative abuses and serve as a vehicle for sensible teacher input into educational decisions. Underscoring Ravitch's main point, a Washington D.C., high school teacher writes about his ongoing struggle to prevent his principal from changing students' grades and handing out unearned diplomas. The magazine also explores one of the most important issues facing schools with lots of disadvantaged students: the high teacher turnover rate. On average, low-income students have teachers with less experience than their higher income counterparts and critics of teacher unions claim collective bargaining is to blame. AFT researcher, Howard Nelson demonstrates that such claims are wrong in "Recognize the Real Cause: Collective Bargaining is Not to Blame." These articles are now posted online at http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/i71KNd116qmq/educator.
AFT OFFERS MIXED REVIEW OF COMMISSION'S REFORM PLAN--A new report that includes a sweeping set of proposals to overhaul the nation's education system contains some positive recommendations, but it also includes "seriously flawed ideas with faddish allure that won't produce better academic reports," says AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese. The report was released Dec. 14 by the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. Cortese praised some of the report's recommendations, including its support for universal early childhood education. "A good start provides an important foundation, especially for disadvantaged students," she says. The AFT also supports the report's call for rigorous high school exams, which Cortese says can "motivate students and help teachers focus on important academic priorities." In addition, the report rightly identifies the importance of higher pay and careers ladders that promote professional growth as vital to making teaching a more attractive career. The document's flaws, however, are major. One structural proposal would dismantle school districts and turn the management of schools over to independent contractors. As Cortese notes, this idea is "antithetical to school accountability" and also ignores the fact that vouchers and charter schools have produced little evidence of improving student performance. The report's plan for teacher pay—to fund increased teacher salaries by cutting the pensions and health benefits of retired teachers—is "an unacceptable shell game," Cortese says, "and not a serious way to attract and retain people who want to make teaching their life's career." An executive summary of the report, "Tough Choices or Tough Times," is available at http://www.skillscommission.org/.
