Seattle schools and union should consider new ideas in negotiations

SOMETHING new is happening.

Seattle Public Schools and its teachers union begin contract negotiations this week. For the first time in memory, a group of citywide community organizations and leaders have coalesced to advocate for a specific set of changes to the contract.

This unprecedented move reflects a deep desire to significantly move the needle on student achievement by rewarding and supporting teaching talent — the single biggest predictor of student success. Central to this effort is the notion that a strong teacher corps is given the resources and tools to succeed and is expected to take ownership of results.

The new and diverse Our Schools Coalition is representative of parents, students, local employers and the community at large. It is reflective of the taxpaying public that supports our schools with time, money and commitment.

We know there is much that happens outside the four walls of a school building that impact a child's academic success. Coalition members have long been committed to the notion of shared responsibility and to building what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called "the beloved community." Collectively, we have lobbied hard for increased funding, improved infrastructure and expanded student services; we are particularly heartened by the recent court ruling mandating the state live up to its constitutional obligation to fully fund basic education. But to paraphrase an old Ford ad, instructional quality is Job No. 1.

Research shows that highly effective teaching, including a focus on different cultural learning styles, results in students who are globally competitive. Research also shows that a student with an ineffective teacher two years in a row is unlikely ever to catch up to his or her peers.

Informed by research and guided by a set of core principles placing student success at the fore, the coalition has issued a set of nine proposals. If fully and promptly implemented, we believe these changes will have a material, positive impact on academic achievement, including narrowing the persistent and pernicious achievement gap.

Specifically, the coalition advocates for increased teacher preparation time, increased peer collaboration time and expanded mentoring and coaching programs. We propose moving from a binary "satisfactory/unsatisfactory" teacher-evaluation scale to a meaningful four-tier scale; including student academic growth into teacher evaluations; factoring performance into staffing decisions such as placement, transfers and layoffs; and shortening the time it takes to remove consistently low-performing teachers.

Finally, we support creating new career paths and compensation opportunities that go beyond seniority and credentialing, and opening up the teaching field to new pools of teacher talent (like Teach for America) with a major focus on recruiting and training teachers who reflect the diversity of the student body.

The coalition conducted a citywide poll to measure support for each proposal. Survey results demonstrate overwhelming support for each provision among taxpayers and parents, and majority support among teachers for seven out of nine elements. We respect the bargaining process and the rights of the bargaining parties to negotiate in private. But the taxpaying public has a legitimate right to express its collective priorities in this endeavor.

Seattle has an unprecedented leadership opportunity. If we do this right, we can capitalize on the energy and attention education issues are receiving at the local, state and federal level. We can break new ground, unify stakeholders and make our district a model for the nation.

We urge the district and union to have courage, to provide bold leadership and to make meaningful strides to help all our children reach their academic potential. The city will be here to celebrate you.

Sara Morris, left, is the president and CEO of the Alliance for Education. Estela Ortega is executive director of El Centro de la Raza.