feature stories

Together, they can — and do

by Cara Metz

May 7, 2009 12:58 PM

Administration, union combine to make learning happen at Amber Charter School

[For more photos, go to the “Together, they can — and do” gallery]

There are some who feel that charter schools and teacher unions don’t go together — but not the folks at Amber Charter School in East Harlem, who have been successfully combining the two for years, exemplifying their school theme, “Together, we can.”

While others fight it out, the Amber community is busy getting on with the job at hand: educating their students to be interested, caring and compassionate citizens of the world.

They do so with a spirit of cooperation between teachers and administrators and with a shared focus on the needs of their students.

A peek inside the school reveals an older building with classrooms painted a cheery sky blue and yellow, and word walls, student artwork and lessons neatly arranged in classes and hallways. Students wear uniforms, and there is an enviable concentration among students at all grade levels — they are there to learn.

Amber was started in 2000 as a dual-language school by the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans. Teachers approached the UFT in 2001 and said they were interested in joining, said Chapter Leader Pete Katehis, universally known as “Mr. Pete” at the school.

“Teachers wanted a unified voice at the school, the UFT was willing to take us on, and management agreed to it, so there wasn’t any of that noise you hear nowadays,” said Katehis.

That “noise” is the argument that the charter model doesn’t work with unions because they handcuff flexibility and insist on iron-clad contracts. But there was no cookie-cutter approach to the contract at Amber.

“We have our own independent contract that fits our purposes and goals,” Katehis said. He credits the UFT’s flexibility in adopting their school handbook and tweaking it when asked to by educators as a key component of their success.

Cassie Carlo, the UFT educational liaison who helped negotiate their first contract, recalled that there was a lot of give and take between management and staff, and that management was looking to “work with us, not against us.”

Staff wanted step salaries according to level of education, paid time when they cover for another teacher’s lunchtime, and prep periods, which were achieved. Their contract also clarified the probation period and steps for termination, Carlo said.

Some of what is unique about Amber’s contract includes a workday that goes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a “Summer Institute” which extends 10 days beyond the normal school year.

But you will find teachers in the building until 6 and 7 p.m., Katehis said, because “we devote ourselves to our kids and want to do the best we can to offer them what they need.”

Vasthi Acosta, the school’s principal, said her philosophy is that “the most important thing that happens in this building is what goes on in the classroom,” and lauded her “superstar teachers.”

“I love the charter world because it gives me the freedom to respond quickly,” she said.

As an example, she cited her ability to limit the class size in her 5th-grade classes to 10 students each, because they need extra attention.

“The DOE would never allow that,” she said. “It wouldn’t be cost effective.”

She makes up for it with kindergarten classes of 22 students each, and by saving money elsewhere.

Achievement is critical, because if the school doesn’t meet its goals, it will be closed down by the Charter School Institute, which inspects the school annually and will shut its doors quickly if standards aren’t met.

While achievement and accountability are important, they are not the entire focus. Educating the whole child is the school’s mission, which is why there is a community service component for all grade levels.

There are also enrichment activities and partnerships with community organizations such as El Museo del Barrio, where students are currently working with artists Ruben and Isabel Toledo (designer of Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown) on portraits on canvas which will be sold at the museum’s annual gala.

A partnership with the YMCA is bringing swimming lessons to the school’s 2nd-graders. “They’re urban children who may not get a chance to swim,” said Acosta. “Research shows that if they don’t learn by this age, they will never be comfortable in the water.”

“It’s not just the ABCs,” said Katehis, “it’s the whole child,” said Acosta, finishing his sentence.

Amber is a K-5 school with 354 students, 6 percent English language learners and 8 percent special education students. Although started as a dual-language school, its space in Washington Heights never materialized; instead it is in Harlem, and has moved to a model in which students have Spanish classes for speaking, but not reading and writing.

Amber Charter has been meeting its educational goals, racking up awards and honors, including being named one of the 50 Best Charter Schools in America, and has an active parent association.

Teachers meet regularly with the UFT Charter group, rotating between each UFT-represented charter school, “so we get a feeling for other charter schools,” said Katehis. While each one is unique, “we all share the same pressure to meet our goals or lose our charter.”

Their last New York State Department of Education visit was three weeks ago, and it noted that “teachers feel supported, valued and respected by administration and student work displays academic rigor.”