The Questionnaire

To the staff of QHST:

I’m sure that many of you are aware that last term we lost the following staff members at the Queens High School of Teaching: From Montessori, Matt Wolkowitcz, Tara Riba, Tamara Baranski and Andrea Galeno. From Emerson, Jamie Yost, Andy Sutton and Liz Fichera (originally from Montessori and moved to the Emerson community). We also lost Minerva Zanca, a guidance counselor from the Freire community. It is expected that some people will leave for other reasons than dissatisfaction, but this attrition rate of 12% is rather significant. Therefore, we thought it was important to investigate the feelings and opinions of the staff.

Saying good bye to these staff members was much more upsetting than any questionnaire we could ever produce – whatever the format might be. As a Chapter Chair, it is my job to investigate issues that are troubling the staff, ask the tough questions, and with the assistance of a consultative team and the staff, develop a plan to make the Queens High School of Teaching the best it can be.

The statements were provocative in their wording, but they were not unfair. There were many options – people could leave it blank, agree or disagree, answer only what they thought would be helpful, or toss the sheet in the waste basket. The purpose, then, was to get your opinions and discuss some of the issues that people have been addressing to me. Last year, one of our colleagues said to me, “Mike, I’m always shut down in my SLC meeting, and my opinion is not appreciated.”

I’m also aware that the questionnaire did not target the needs and concerns of the para-professionals or the secretaries. I will produce a sheet for the secretaries to voice their concerns and Kathleen Grantz, who did not take part in the teacher questionnaire, will reach out to the para-professionals.

I do not have all the questionnaires at this time, so I do not have the results for you. A cursory investigation reveals that the real work will be unifying our fragmented staff. The questionnaire was not meant to – as one staff member suggested – divide us. It did, however, reveal that our staff has been divided for some time and that we need to develop a plan to make the QHST a unified chapter. Without that unity we will struggle with a kind of quiet anxiety that saps our energy and ultimately affects our teaching practice. With a unified chapter, where everyone is able to voice an opinion, we may significantly reduce the need to bid farewell to our valued colleagues.


Fraternally,



Michael Lieber

Randi Weingarten's article -- New York Times 9-17-06

To the Staff of QHST:

This past weekend, I attended a New Chapter Leaders workshop. During the first session, Randi Weingarten spoke about the “demonizing” of unions throughout America and that teachers have become the scapegoat for the failing system. In an effort to counterbalance this trend, she is publishing a regular column in the New York Times, The Week in Review section, and it is titled “What Matters Most.” When it is published, I will provide the article for you.

Below is the article:

Teachers across the country are beginning another school year – getting their classrooms in order, planning lessons, learning new students’ names, and meeting parents. For teachers, as well as children and their parents, it’s a fresh start; a time of hope, renewal and optimism.

But make no mistake; the job of educating all our students is not a simple one. The challenge in a city like New York, where unequal opportunities for rich and poor are reflected in so many ways, is to ensure that we prepare all children for a fair shot at the American dream in a rapidly changing world. Too often, the critically important goal of how to accomplish that gets lost in the endless cycle of debates that divide rather than unite all of us who care about education. Studies and statistics are regularly rolled out and advocates on all sides use them to bolster their points of view, “proving” that one type of school or curriculum is better than the other. In the education debate, people are so passionate about their ideas that we often end up expending more energy shouting at each other than we do pushing for the fundamentals that are instrumental to success in all schools.

So how can we make sure that teachers are able to teach and children are able to learn? There is plenty of evidence about what we must do. Here are 5 suggestions:

Children must start school ready to learn. This is particularly important in high-poverty areas where many children are behind before they even start school. Every child needs access to full-day pre-kindergarten.
Give students the individual attention they deserve and a focused learning environmnet. How to do this? Smaller classes. Reducing class size is one of the simplest and most sensible investments that can be made to enhance achievement.
Ensure a safe, orderly learning environment. Kids and teachers need a quiet safe atmosphere in which to work and learn. Many of our children face enormous challenges in their daily lives. Schools must be sanctuaries where children can thrive and learning can prosper.
Provide all students a broad and rigorous curriculum. To prepare children for the world, we need to provide them with as big a slice of it as we can. We want our students to be curious about the world they live in and continue learning throughout their lives. They need to be able to write, to communicate, to discern, to navigate, to build, to appreciate and to motivate themselves and others. That means subjects like art, music, physical education and social studies can’t be shortchanged by a curriculum that focuses too narrowly on what gets “tested.”
Above all, teaching matters. We need a caring qualified teacher in every classroom. When it comes to having excellent teachers, no neighborhood is more important than another, no child less deserving than his neighbor. But to attract and retain the best teachers, we must let them exercise their skills, use their judgment and work their magic. Teachers can’t do that without the freedom to tailor lessons, spend a little extra time, and meet students at each one’s individual point of need. Teachers never fear accountability as long as they have the authority and tools they need to do their jobs. Teachers and students want to live up to high standards and fully understand that the results need to be measured.

These may not be new suggestions, but they are critical. In the coming months, this column will focus on what needs to be done to achieve these goals and others, and what changes are necessary from the city, state and federal governments, as well as from teachers’ unions and all those who care about public education, equity and opportunity. It’s a new day, and working together we can surely make a better future for our children.