Head of national teachers union: Touring Philadelphia schools, assessing political obstacles

Walking and driving around Philadelphia on Monday, Randi Weingarten was struck by the vibrant, dynamic city she saw.

"This is a booming town," the American Federation of Teachers president said.

The reality inside the city's public schools doesn't match, said Weingarten, who visited Philadelphia as part of her national back-to-school tour.

"People are really upset at the relentless budget cutting and the pitting of charters against a public school system that has been buffeted by state takeover and by the cuts," she said in an interview. "And in some ways, people feel like, rather than working together to do what we need to do to help all kids, we're just throwing obstacle after obstacle at them."

Weingarten, a cofounder of three charter schools during her tenure as head of the New York City teachers' union, was unequivocal - the growth of charters in Philadelphia has harmed its public schools.

"The charter movement has not made public schooling better for children, if we define children as everyone on our watch," Weingarten said, reflecting on the union's stance on charter schools. Charters are a competitor to district schools, but one with an unfair advantage - the ability to pick and choose which students they educate, she said.

Weingarten had a full agenda Monday, stopping first at Andrew Jackson Elementary, a public school in South Philadelphia, where she met new Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.

She was delighted by what she saw there.

"It's a great school," said Weingarten, a former New York City history teacher. "It's a neighborhood jewel - not magnet, but neighborhood."

She was impressed, Weingarten said, by the students, by the staff, and by principal Lisa Ciaranca-Kaplan. "The fact is, that school starts with that staff and her loving each other," Weingarten said. "What you're seeing is an incredible spirit, an entrepreneurial spirit, innovation."

Jackson, which educates a majority-poor population of 400 students, has strong parental involvement. It also has partnerships with organizations like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Water Department, which allow for enhanced art, music, and science education, as well as programs for its many English-language learners.

"The programs we saw today should be funded by the public," Weingarten said. "That art program. That science program. That music program."

Hite made a good first impression on the national teachers' union president. The first thing he told her: "There are some amazing teachers in Philadelphia."

"Sometimes," Weingarten said, "superintendents show up when the president of the national union comes to town, and sometimes they don't. I thought it was great that he was with us today."

But don't underestimate the job in front of Hite, she said.

"There's a public system that needs to be preserved and improved for all the kids in Philadelphia," Weingarten said. "This fight will happen under his stewardship. It's a fight for the heart and soul of public education."

Weingarten - who also met with City Council members and members of PCAPS, an umbrella group of teachers, students, and community members working to develop an alternative to the Boston Consulting Group's plan to overhaul the Philadelphia School District - said many in the city feel dejected.

"People feel like, 'Why are the powers that be in this city not working with us? Why did the School Reform Commission come up with this Boston Consulting Group to essentially balkanize the system. . . . Why not work together to make the schools great for all kids?" she said.

It's fashionable to bash teachers unions, Weingarten said. But those who say they are outmoded relics of the past aren't acknowledging reality, she said.

"None of us has been perfect. There are things that we've had to look inward for. But we've done that work. We're not just focused on fairness - we're focused on quality."

Weingarten said she was keeping her eye on Philadelphia.

"The same choices you see being debated in the national election are being debated here," she said. "Rather than having shared responsibilities and sacrifice, just starve the schools and take those who remain in the middle class and pauperize them and essentially insulate the rich from any kind of sacrifice or responsibility whatsoever."