The head of the New York City teachers鈥� union told a gathering of charter school leaders meeting here last week that, despite perceptions to the contrary, unions are not the enemy of charter schools.
鈥淭he [American Federation of Teachers] does not have a position that all charter schools are bad,鈥� said Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the national union.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 one thing that I can get through to the people here, 鈥� [it鈥檚 that] we are in this together in terms of educating all kids,鈥� she told some 400 participants at the Oct. 24-25 conference, hosted by the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Charter School Authorizers. 鈥淧ublic school choice was never an issue that we didn鈥檛 embrace.鈥�
But, Ms. Weingarten said: 鈥淐hoice in and of itself is not sufficient. 鈥� The real issue is the quality of the schools.鈥�
She noted that the UFT opened a new charter school in New York City this fall, and plans to start another next year.
She said some 600 teachers applied for 15 slots at the first one, an elementary campus.
鈥淭his is quite a risk for a teachers鈥� union to take,鈥� she said of its foray into public but largely autonomous schooling. 鈥淲e wanted to prove the point that teachers are as concerned about the education of our children 鈥� as anybody else.鈥�
Also on the panel, Paul T. Hill, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, located at the University of Washington in Seattle, applauded the efforts of Ms. Weingarten, even while suggesting many unions have a decidedly more hostile attitude toward charters.
鈥淚magine where we鈥檇 be today 鈥� if all unions around the country鈥� took the approach of Ms. Weingarten, he said.
Later that day, Alan D. Bersin, California鈥檚 secretary of education and a former district superintendent in San Diego, said charter schools 鈥渕ust capture more of the market鈥� for public education.
That鈥檚 exactly what鈥檚 happening in California. The California Charter Schools Association recently announced that compared with the 2004-05 school year, charter enrollment has climbed by about 18 percent.
鈥淭he problem is that it鈥檚 still only 3 percent of the action,鈥� Mr. Bersin said, arguing that until charters get better 鈥渕arket penetration,鈥� the nation will not see the acceleration in student achievement that it needs. The goal, he said, ought to be having a fifth to a quarter of public schools operating as charters.
Mr. Bersin said the federal No Child Left Behind Act presents 鈥渁 huge opportunity for charter expansion.鈥� Under the law, public schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress eventually enter a category in which one option for corrective action is to convert to charter status.
But Mr. Bersin also cautioned that, 鈥渢o the extent that this is something that is imposed on a neighborhood, a community, it will not have traction.鈥�
A senior U.S. Department of Education official, meanwhile, noted that President Bush鈥檚 budget request for fiscal 2006鈥攐n which Congress has yet to take final action鈥攃alls for $256 million explicitly for charter school programs.
Nina Shokraii Rees, who leads the office of innovation and improvement, highlighted a recent $21 million grant the agency delivered to Louisiana officials after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 鈥渢o help them build charters,鈥� some of which are slated to open in January. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never given a grant of this size as fast as we have [here],鈥� she said.
Still, Ms. Rees said, 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 take a hurricane 鈥� to go into a community that needs help and expand the number of quality public schools.鈥�
