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City Schools New Teacher Contract The Ratification Process

City Schools New Teacher Contract The Ratification Process. 1. Strong Partnership: A New Contract. 2. Retaining the Best Teachers. Significant increases in compensation, creating a strong incentive to retain existing and attract new great teachers

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City Schools New Teacher Contract The Ratification Process

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  1. City Schools NewTeacher ContractThe Ratification Process 1

  2. Strong Partnership: A New Contract 2

  3. Retaining the Best Teachers • Significant increases in compensation, creating a strong incentive to retain existing and attract new great teachers • Eliminates steps in favor of “earn as you grow” or “self-pacing” concept • Eliminates increases based solely on advanced degrees • Moves City Schools from the bottom quartile to the top quartile in teacher compensation throughout state New Contract Could reach 92K in 5 years (Successful student and teacher performance) Current system 21 years to reach to reach 76K (Master’s + 30 credits) 3

  4. Growing the Best Teachers Lead Pathway Serve as lead academic teacher at a school; collaborating with the principal to improve academic performance • Creates new career pathways to reward and recognize teachers and education professionals excelling in their field both in terms of student outcomes and teacher practice. Model Pathway Serve as model of excellence; play a leadership role; create professional development opportunities Professional Pathway Focus on classroom success; active in school-based roles Standard Pathway Focus on instruction; professional development 4

  5. Attracting the Best Teachers Intervals within a pathway are connected to evaluation, approved teacher growth opportunities, added professional responsibilities, and are based on improved student achieve-ment instead of years of experience.

  6. Creates a Culture of Shared Leadership Establishes a system of checks and balances among principals and teachers to ensure all are working towards the same goal of student achievement.

  7. School-Based Options • Flexibility to modify the collective bargaining agreement to better meet the needs of schools and students and philosophy of the school community • Flexibility to collaboratively craft creative solutions specific to individual school’s needs • School-based options decisions remain in effect for one year • 80% of staff must approve school-based options • Participation in school-based options is phased over 3 year 7

  8. Why Baltimore, Why Now? • Previous Contracts • Teachers severely underpaid, district traded working condition concessions for inability to compensate teachers appropriately • No correlation between compensation and school or student outcomes; salary based on tradition model of % increase over time (traditional model was fiscally unfeasible and disconnected from system goals) • History of Relationships • CEO Relationship with Union leadership – After bump at entry, healthy collaboration between district and union leadership with responsiveness to issues on either side • Membership confidence in Union leadership - Union relationship with progressive national board (AFT) connected membership to the compensation model in contracts

  9. Why Baltimore, Why Now? • Reform Climate • Race To The Top • Ed Reform Act • District a hot bed of innovation, anticipating many federal and state new requirements with trend of improved outcomes and teachers engaged in contributing to process • Economic recession • No teacher raises in 2 years - Allowed support for creative ways to increase salaries without shortfall

  10. Pre-Negotiation Work: Research • Literature Review • Traditional increases based on advanced degrees and time in the classroom= no relationship to effectiveness • Review of New Contracts in Other Districts • Review of contracts proposed in other district to see innovative changes in current climate • Financial Sustainability and Incentives • Understanding financial sustainability and preparing for possible scenarios • Review of current population of teachers to determine fiscal impact and feasible incentives • Teacher Surveys • Listen to memberships (need to be evaluated, but fairly; need to move through scale faster; need to have a voice in school improvement)

  11. Strategy: Negotiation Team Design • Negotiation Team members include: • District Office • Chief Negotiator (Member versed in Maryland LEA negotiations) • Chief Financial Officer (CFO) • Executive Director (ED) of Teaching and Learning • Human Capital Team (3 members) • Chief Legal Officer designee • School Leader (principal) • Union Representatives • Chief Negotiator (also on the national board of AFT), • Union President • Teachers (10 teachers with a range of experience; early career to veteran teachers, various content and service providers)

  12. Strategy: Negotiation Team Design • Legal serves as co-lead rather than as lead role as in traditional negotiations. CFO and ED of Teaching and Learning take lead from district in content and feasibility of discussions • Engage school leaders and teachers in the negotiation process as part of negotiating team • CEO role in process is to set tone and expectations, only intervention at impasse

  13. Negotiation Process • CEO met with BTU leadership and negotiating team to agree on expectations • Contract must be a collaboration/agree to “no impasse” • Emphasize the professionalization of teaching • Contract must be fiscally sustainable • Include entire membership from the start (no staggered start time) • Parking lot “TBDs” is acceptable –figure out details later

  14. Negotiation Process • CEO only steps in when group at impasse • Group set ground rules • Always come with an open mind to the discussion • Always set up three meetings in advance so there is no question on when conversation will continue • No communications on contract until finished (no chance of misinterpretation)

  15. Obstacles and Responses • Topics Resulting in Near Impasse: • Fair Evaluations for Teachers • Build language into contract to ensure reliability • Address how to incorporate existing structure into new • Unsustainable Options Left on the Table • District staff emphasizes transparency on what is possible - open sharing of fiscal limitations and options

  16. Obstacles and Responses • Insufficient Time to Inform Members Before Ratification • Contract could only be communicated by union leadership to membership (no one outside of negotiations team had been briefed on contract) • Negotiation took 8 months; communications roll-out to members just over 10 days • First vote did not pass (not supported 1,540 to 1107). Team needed to come back to the table to address membership concerns.

  17. Strategy for Second Ratification • Communicate, communicate, communicate! • Survey teachers to address misconceptions on contract • Touch every school --national American Federation of Teachers (AFT) provide staff to help local union leaders and representatives explain contract to membership

  18. Strategy for Second Ratification • Union leadership and partners try to reach every teacher in the district (Listening Campaign) • Visited all 200 schools and programs in the district, held meetings around the district, held town hall meetings and focus groups, made calls to the homes, sent home fliers and sent out emails. • Contracted supported with a 1,902 to 1,045 vote • Convey ongoing collaboration and understanding – no scapegoating (e.g. CEO press conference)

  19. Promote Advantages of Contract • Increases for teachers are based on improvement in student achievement, not arbitrary absolute measures • New control over their professional path… and earnings • Financial incentive in the contract in a time of retrenchment • Immediate conversion of existing credits to Achievement Units (AU) to be reflected in their next increase • One-time stipend payment to all teachers once ratified and a guaranteed increase for the next year • Collaborative frame for problem solving in the future

  20. Lessons Learned: What Works? • Agreement on mutual interests at start • Transparency about resources and non-negotiables • Trust in negotiating team • Time to work out differences (no deadline to reach agreement) • Trust in process elements • No grandstanding (never went public, nobody) • Good communications is essential • Always frame in terms of good of district and impact on students • Be aware of eventual public discussion and how to communicate so both side would continue to be partners (both sides as winners)

  21. Contact Information Neil Duke Board Chair Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners nduke@bcps.k12.md.us Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D CEO, Baltimore City Schools aalons@bcps.k12.md.us Marietta English President, Baltimore Teachers Union menglish@baltu.org

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