Teaching Profession

UFT, Green Dot Seek a Charter for N.Y. School

July 17, 2007 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

In what appears to be a unique arrangement, the New York City teachers’ union is teaming up with a Los Angeles-based charter schools organization in the hope of starting a new school.

The June 28 announcement by the American Federation of Teachers affiliate in New York and Green Dot Public Schools, a high-profile charter-management organization, was striking, given the often acrimonious relationship between the charter movement and teachers’ unions. Teachers in most charters are not unionized.

But the United Federation of Teachers already runs two charter schools in New York City. And all of Green Dot’s 10 charter high schools in the Los Angeles area are unionized, though they have contracts separate from larger collective-bargaining agreements.

“We’re a union shop,” said Steve Barr, Green Dot’s founder and chief executive officer. “This seemed to be something that can actually show the charter movement that we should be thinking differently.”

Debunking ‘Myths’

Randi Weingarten, the president of the UFT, said she’s impressed with Mr. Barr and Green Dot’s schools. She said he “just ‘got it’ about how teachers and other working people need unions, and how in the long term, enlightened employers understand that.”

“This kind of experiment that Steve Barr and we are doing is intended not only to run a good school for kids, but to debunk this myth” that teachers’ unions are an obstacle to good schooling, Ms. Weingarten said.

The move comes after New York state in April raised a cap to allow 100 new charter schools. Green Dot and the union have submitted their proposal to the State University of New York Board of Trustees for a school to open in the fall of 2008.

Mr. Barr has worked hard, but so far unsuccessfully, to take over a struggling high school in Los Angeles and convert it into several charter schools. Resistance from district officials and the United Teachers Los Angeles have been major obstacles.

In December, the Broad Foundation, a Los Angeles-based philanthropy, awarded Green Dot $10.5 million to create 21 new, small high schools over the next four years in the city.

“I think it’s a marriage of mutual convenience, as well as benefit,” Jeanne Allen, the president of the Center for Education Reform, a pro-charter organization based in Washington, said of the UFT/Green Dot venture. “Randi Weingarten obviously thinks she has to demonstrate publicly that she is reform-minded. … [Steve Barr] needs her to show Los Angeles that other people want him: The head of the New York City union is calling.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 18, 2007 edition of Education Week as UFT, Green Dot Seek a Charter For N.Y. School

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession 'Here’s a Room. Here’s a Book. Good Luck': Veteran Teachers Reflect on How Their Careers Began
A little bit of support in the first year of teaching can go a long way, and older teachers are willing to mentor their new colleagues.
5 min read
Two female teachers in a school hallway having a discussion.
E+
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching It's 'a Passion, It’s Not Just a Paycheck': Teachers' Advice on Joining the Profession
If you go into the job with open eyes, it's worth it, say five teachers featured in EdWeek's The State of Teaching project.
Fourth grade students have fun interacting in a math class taught by Helen Chan at South Loop Elementary School on Nov. 15, 2023, in Chicago, Ill.
Fourth grade students have fun interacting in a math class taught by Helen Chan at South Loop Elementary School on Nov. 15, 2023, in Chicago.
Jamie Kelter Davis for Education Week
Teaching Profession The Finalists for National Teacher of the Year Have Ideas for Boosting Teacher Morale
The four award-winning teachers also met with U.S. lawmakers to advocate for their education causes of choice.
5 min read
Illustration of hands holding speech bubbles.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Teaching Profession From Our Research Center Forget the Free Food and Gift Cards. Here's the Kind of Recognition Teachers Really Want
New survey results reveal what teachers and administrators find to be the most meaningful type of acknowledgment from a supervisor.
4 min read
Thank you card inside a brown envelope left on desk
iStock / Getty Images Plus