New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa pledged to make teachers part of the solution moving forward at an education town hall at the UFT’s Spring Education Conference on May 7.

The packed ballroom erupted in applause again and again as the new state education leaders stressed the importance of teachers as “part of the team.”

In opening the wide-ranging discussion that kicked off the daylong conference, UFT President Michael Mulgrew reminded conference attendees of the trials and political battles that public school educators in the state faced for years. That opener triggered decisive responses from both guests.

Rosa acknowledged past failures under her predecessor to “talk to the people who do the work day in and day out” as she promised to work together with classroom educators to find solutions and to “take back our profession.” Elia spoke of her determination to put “teachers in the forefront of where we go with standards and curriculum” and make changes “designed by teachers” to the evaluation process.

The marked shift to respect for and empowerment of teachers reflected both state leaders’ long careers as classroom educators. Elia was a social studies teacher in Buffalo for 19 years. In the course of her long career in the Bronx, Rosa served as a bilingual paraprofessional, a special education teacher, a principal and a superintendent.

When Mulgrew moved the conversation to implementing the new standards once changes are made, Elia said she is committed to staff development and to developing strategies “to get to all students,” especially those with special needs. She vowed “to call out administrators who don’t do their job.”

On teacher certification, which Mulgrew described as an outmoded system “not designed for what we need,” both state leaders agreed on the need for “streamlining” the certification process so teachers with expertise in special areas such as bilingual education can get certification “add-ons” without, as Elia put it, “climbing a mountain.”

On retention — data shows teacher departures are on the rise again —Elia cited mentors as the best way to build confidence in beginning teachers and “to make them better quicker.”

Rosa said teachers will stay in the profession longer when they are celebrated, not badgered and blamed. ”It is time for us to write our story and to tell of all the wonderful things we are doing,” she said.

At the end of the hour-long exchange, UFT members gave a standing ovation to Elia and Rosa.