Nolan Finley

Teachers win if they embrace Detroit reform

I've developed a fool-proof method for evaluating policies impacting the Detroit Public Schools -- if dissident teachers Heather Miller and Steve Conn are against it, I'm for it, and vicey-versey.

The fire-breathing couple tries to subvert every reform suggested for the city's schools, works to shield teachers from accountability, fights school closings and other money-saving measures, and inflames and perpetuates the adversarial relationship between teachers and district management. For revolutionaries, they're awfully fond of the status quo.

Now, they've turned their venom on Keith Johnson, head of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, for working with Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb to craft what promises to be the most progressive school contract ever negotiated in Michigan.

The pact being hammered out in advance of Saturday's deadline would break the pattern of concessions and takeaways and empower teachers to help guide the academic revival of the district, and in doing so protect their own jobs and raise their own pay.

For this, Miller, in a memo to teachers, calls Johnson a "sell-out."

I'll admit, I haven't been a huge fan of Johnson myself. We've had a racket or two, and I've thought him somewhat of a jerk. But if what we're hearing about this new contract holds up, he'll have proved me a poor prophet in predicting the DFT would never embrace reform, and a lousy judge of character to boot.

The ideas on the table should excite teachers frustrated by the failure of the schools they've dedicated their careers to, the miserable working conditions they've endured and the district's heavy-handed, top-down management style.

It opens the way for a new style of school, one where teachers are actively involved in the decision-making at every level. Teachers will be asked to help evaluate their peers, allowing the district to get rid of bad teachers faster and fairer, and boosting the overall performance of schools.

In schools that meet their academic marks, teachers will reap the rewards through merit bonuses and a healthier working environment. And while seniority rights remain a sticking point, the bargainers are open to compromise.

The pact would increase accountability, and that's a tough pill for any union to swallow. But in return, it makes teachers full partners in the success of schools.

If this agreement gets ratified, it would place Detroit well ahead of any other district in the state in adopting key school reforms.

I've heard from a lot of teachers after writing columns advocating changes in their benefits.

In almost every case, teachers talk about how much energy they put into their jobs, how much education they're required to have, and the skills it takes to educate a child. It's not just another job, they say, it's a special calling.

Yet at the bargaining table, they want to be treated as blue-collar laborers; every worker valued the same, every worker paid the same.

If finalized, the DFT contract will treat school teachers as the professionals they are and unleash their ability to make schools better.

That's what Miller calls selling out, but hopefully other teachers will see it as a chance to make teaching in Detroit schools the enriching, rewarding experience they deserve.

Nolan Finley is editorial page editor of The News. His column is published on Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at nfinley@detnews.com or (313) 222-2064. Watch him at 8:30 p.m. Fridays on "Am I Right?" on Detroit Public TV, Channel 56.