Parris Battle left teaching for the private sector because he couldn't support his family and resented "being treated like a peon by the administration," but he missed teaching enough to give it a second shot, this time in Dade County, Fla. As the saying goes, his new job at Little River Elementary School looked like it was going to be "deja vu all over again."
"The school was falling apart," explained Battle, "but it wasn't even scheduled for painting for seven years. Each year there was a mass exodus of teachers, and each day we were treated like second-class citizens and subject to all levels of distant bureaucracies telling us to do things that didn't work for the kids. The kids knew a lot about drugs; prostitution and even murder, but they were at the bottom of the heap in academic achievement."
Three years later, Little River is a joyous, sparkling school, a beacon of hope in a community that had almost given up. Teachers, paraprofessionals and other support staff are involved in every aspect of decision making, and there's a waiting list to work in the school. Parent participation is high. Unworkable programs have been junked, and new ones designed around the needs of the students and the community. The children want to be in school and, according to Battle, "Achievement has gone through the ceiling."
He isn't surprised. "Creativity built this country, but it was always stifled in schools. This is the first time we've been allowed to take risks, even to fail and learn from our mistakes. I've never felt this good about being a teacher - and I can also support my family."
Little River is only one of 44 schools involved in the School-Based Management/Shared DecisionMaking (SBM/SDM) pilot project negotiated between the Dade County School Board and the United Teachers of Dade, AFT (UTD), three years ago. And thanks to the new, landmark contract, the pilot will be expanded and every school will have an opportunity for shared decision making - and more.
It was a gamble from the beginning. Dade is the nation's fourth largest school district, a multicultural county with a history of racial tension and labor-management conflict. The worse the schools became, the more they were subject to rules and regulations and the more they declined. Teachers were demoralized. The community was losing patience.
Both the union and management had lots of ideas for turning things around - including their relationship - but none better than enabling faculties to implement their ideas for turning their schools around. That idea became the first contract in the country to recognize teaching as a profession and to provide an opportunity for every school to submit a proposal for how the principal and staff would jointly run the school on behalf of students. The sky was the limit, and to prove their intent, both the union and school board agreed to waive any contract provision or district rule that stood in the way of the pilot schools' improvement - and to let them control their own budgets.
There's no gain without pain, but the gamble paid off handsomely. Even before contract negotiations started, schools that initially had not even applied for the SBM/SDM pilot were clamoring to get in. And the new contract accommodates them. Community and business attitudes also have turned around to make Dade teachers among the highest paid in the nation. Dade's salaries during the three years of the contract will increase an average of 28 percent - far higher than the rate of inflation. Average teacher salaries next year will go to more than $33,000 and by 1990-91 will reach almost $40,000. In the last year of the contract, novice teachers with a B.A. will earn $26,500, while many veteran teachers could earn as much as $64,000.
Battle feels that the community is finally recognizing the worth of teaching. He believes that improvements would not have been possible without the willingness of the union and school board and ultimately, the teachers to do things differently.
Among the professional benefits that Battle and his colleagues will be reaping in the next three years are:
• An expanded professional leave bank, making teachers eligible for up to three paid weeks to attend education conferences, institutes, etc.
• A program to upgrade faculty workrooms and lounges, and teacher involvement in the planning and design of new schools.
• A grant program for schools to initiate Educational Issues Forums, to invite speakers and to allow teachers to prepare seminars. • Teacher participation in the selection of principals and assistant principals in their schools, and a pilot project to involve teachers in administrator evaluation.
• A career ladder pilot that could provide up to $8,000 a year in additional pay.
• A peer intervention and assistance pilot program.
• Enhanced teacher authority over student discipline.
The union and school board don't intend to be idle over the life of the contract, either. Through joint committees, they'll be studying and developing pilot projects for further school restructuring. In the meantime, though, they should take time out to receive the kudos they so richly deserve.
Pat Tornillo, executive vice president and chief negotiator for UTD, a man who has dedicated his life to proving unionism and professionalism are compatible, is one of the architects of the Dade turnaround, along with former superintendent Leonard Britton, now the chief in Los Angeles. Picking up the ball and driving it with gusto is Joseph Fernandez, one of the most creative superintendents in the country. And Michael Krop, president of the school board, and his colleagues remind us what public service and commitment are all about.
Parris Battle is a lot more confident about his students' prospects of realizing the American dream. "This country is not going to make it on the basis of muscle now, but with minds. I think Dade is ready to enter the 21st century now."