Improving student achievement through labor-management collaboration in urban school districts

Central to any efforts to improve our urban schools is the relationship between the school managers and the teachers' union. Without labor-management collaboration, the best efforts of management are tantamount to one hand clapping. The suggestions contained here are predicated on the assumption that district and union leaders are willing to forge a genuine partnership and develop sufficient trust to turn goodwill into results. These recommendations include creating learner-centered schools; focusing on improving the knowledge and skills of teachers; negotiating "Living Contracts;" and expanding school choice by making public schools more like private-without privatizing public education.