Mar 16, 2006 1:22 PM
Every year tourists from all over the country flock to New York to catch a Broadway show and take in the sights. Educators from all over the U.S. come to New York each year, as well, to take in the top-notch professional development offered at the AFT/UFT Institute.
During their free time they might enjoy a night on the town. But during the days, they’re on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge in that borough’s union office, thoroughly engaged in work sessions led by the dynamic crew of the UFT Teacher Center.
The institute, which ran from Jan. 26-29, was established eight years ago by the American Federation of Teachers as part of its program, Redesigning Schools To Raise Achievement. It relies on the time-tested expertise of the UFT’s Teacher Center to help carry out the program’s mission of assisting schools and districts meet 2001 No Child Left Behind Act mandates.
About 160 teachers, union leaders including AFT staff, administrators and district-level personnel from New York, Rhode Island, California, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, the Virgin Islands, Colorado, Florida and Illinois were sitting in groups hammering out creative solutions to problems they faced in their schools. Work-session leaders gave them scenarios and exercises that helped them reinforce and explore what they learned.
Participants learned about building teams in their schools and districts, communicating effectively within their team and with other teams, analyzing school data and translating it to help students achieve, and providing professional development in their schools based on that data.
People circulated from table to table to learn what teachers from all different regions were dealing with, explore what they had in common and get ideas to try out back home.
A common concern is that under NCLB, schools have to show adequate yearly progress, which causes many schools across the nation to be identified as needing improvement. Teachers and their unions are under tremendous pressure. With this in mind, the AFT and UFT Teacher Center collaborated to create and deliver a professional development series on facilitating school redesign.
Jeff Cannon, an assistant principal and 2nd-grade teacher from the ABC Unified School District in Southern California, said that “many teachers shun PD until we know how it’s going to fit into teaching, makes a connection to what’s already there, or it becomes just another brick in the basket.”
Don Brown, who teaches middle school science in Watsonville, Calif., was listening to participant Julie Washington at her group’s table discussing the creative use of time for professional development.
Washington, elementary school vice president from the United Teachers Los Angeles, was attracted to the AFT/UFT Institute because “teacher quality is union business. That’s my personal belief. The conference was fantastic in showing us how to effect some global change within our unions.
“The data piece that was offered showed different ways of looking at data. Most school districts use data workshops as a club to beat us over the head. This showed it all in a very different light, how we may be able to handle it for our benefit, make it one of our strengths instead of a weakness,” she said.
Washington said she is interested in bringing the institute to Los Angeles teachers.
She might just get her wish.