Last month, Central Falls High School in Rhode Island fired all 77 teachers after failing to come to an agreement with the local teachers union. Today, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten wrote an op-ed in USA Today bemoaning the Central Falls firings.
Applauding the mass firings at Central Falls High School — despite the real progress underway — is the latest clarion call by the blame-the-teacher crowd. Rather than sharing responsibility, administrators there chose to scapegoat the teachers who have helped bring about double-digit gains in student achievement at the struggling school.The "fire them all" approach doesn't reflect the complexity of teaching in challenging schools. In their quest for a silver bullet, administrators instead are chasing what experience shows is a failed approach.
But the truth is that it wasn't the teachers who got themselves fired. It was the teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers, and Randi Weingarten. Barack Obama's education reforms require failing schools to pick one of four paths toward reform, or lose federal aid. One option is extending the work day for teachers from six hours to seven and making other improvements. Central Falls High School Superintendent Frances Gallo sent a plan to the teachers union extending the school day and expanding after-school tutoring. The union refused. After tense negotiations, a frustrated Gallo submitted a plan to the school board under which every teacher would be let go. The board approved 5-2.
This was the fault of the teachers unions, not the teachers. Gallo emphasized that she didn't want the mass firings and intended to rehire many of the teachers later. Many didn't deserve what happened: as Weingarten points out, the teachers had had some luck improving Central Falls test scores. It was the unions' inflexibility that lost 77 people their jobs.
Big Labor's big ally is Barack Obama. Awash in union money, the president came to the Oval Office intent on paying back labor bosses. As we reported yesterday, two-thirds of the jobs "created" or "saved" by the stimulus have come from the Department of Education. In other words, the stimulus pumped cash into the teaching industry, 33% of which is unionized. In an obvious conflict of interest, the president has actually lent pay czar Kenneth Feinberg to the NFT to help improve their mediation efforts.
Ironically, although the president has beefed up teachers unions at every turn, they're now tripping up his own educational reforms.
Central Falls High School is one of the worst in Rhode Island. Half the students are failing every single subject. But the problem in Central Falls is symptomatic of a greater problem across America. As schools seek to improve, or businesses seek to compete, or the federal government tries to become more efficient, Big Labor blocks them at every turn. The teachers unions are particularly problematic. The New Yorker has reported that one New York City public school has a special "Rubber Room" where incompetent teachers mill about. The teachers are still paid a full salary because the school can't fire them thanks to union obstruction. One principal remarked that Randi Weingarten "would protect a dead body in the classroom."
Meanwhile, according to a recent Rasmussen poll, 66% of voters think teachers unions are more likely to protect their bottom dollar than improve education. If Obama keeps playing Big Labor's outdated game, he might find they stab him in the back on much needed change in schools.
