At their April meeting, Building Representatives directed MTEA Executive Director Tom Morgan to write a letter to Superintendent Bill Andrekopoulos, to communicate educators' frustration with his leadership.
May 7, 2008
Dear Superintendent Andrekopoulos:
I am writing to you at the direction of the Building Representative Assembly of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association. Our members have several concerns that must be shared with you. First, I would like to offer a couple of personal observations. When I arrived in Milwaukee about a year ago, I learned of the beginning of a collaborative effort between the union and the school district. My predecessor, Sam Carmen, and MTEA President Dennis Oulahan participated in an effort involving teachers, administrators and community members to develop a strategic plan. I saw it as a unique opportunity to work as partners on making MPS an outstanding school system. I soon learned that this was not to be the case. I observed draconian labor relations, and the administration issuing dictates without any teacher input. I saw a DIFI plan developed without the participation of the practitioners, classroom teachers.
The members of the MTEA are committed to improving teaching and learning. Our members want every student to be able to graduate with the skills necessary to be successful and earn a good living wage. Yet these same teachers are not being given the tools necessary to do their job. Reform efforts cannot work with class sizes of forty students or more, and there is little or no planning time for teachers. Teachers tell us that they do not have time to teach. Valuable instructional time is being consumed by piles of unnecessary paperwork, testing, and countless interruptions in their classrooms. Students cannot learn when a few continually disruptive students require teachers to divert their attention from teaching to classroom management. These habitual disruptors must not be allowed to take away the opportunity for other students to learn.
The Milwaukee Public Schools have become data-dominated instead of being child-centered. Art, music, and physical education classes have been cut. This has led to other classes being overcrowded. Teachers point out that many students who were struggling in core subjects: math, English, science and social studies, found success in classes such as art, music, physical education, and vocational courses. This helped them to realize that they could succeed in school. They became motivated to do better in all of their classes. Yet these courses continue to be eliminated, and the drop-out rate continues to be terribly high.
One program after another has been imposed on teachers. Teachers call these the “programs du jour.” There is a disconnect between the policy makers and the practitioners. The teachers are treated with disrespect. Teacher opinions are rarely sought, and teachers are not treated as professionals. Teachers need autonomy to use their professional judgment and training. I would make the following analogy: A surgeon has a certain protocol when performing surgery on a patient. There are certain accepted procedures followed with each individual surgery.
Superintendent Andrekopoulos
Yet, if during the surgery, the unexpected arises, the surgeon uses professional judgment to do what is best for the patient. If for example, unexpected bleeding occurs, the surgeon does not ignore this but rather takes whatever steps are needed to save the patient. Teachers are told that they must follow a prescribed “canned program” for teaching. If students are not learning, teachers are told to continue using the prescribed program even if it means some students will not learn. Students lose when teachers are told to follow prescribed programs and ignore their training and professional judgment.
The district has spent millions on these programs while at the same time eliminating educational assistant positions. Educational assistants are a vital part of student learning. This practice of cutting EAs must stop if the administration is truly interested in improving teaching and learning.
Our members call on the administration to cease the implementation of these “cookie-cutter” programs until a complete inventory of programs in the district is done. Programs are being ordered implemented in schools without taking in to account the programs already in use in a school. The leads to confusion and creates no time for teachers to teach. It harms student learning. Further, we call for programs to only be instituted in schools after these programs have been reviewed by the teachers. Teachers must be treated as professionals, and their expertise must be respected. Money used to purchase these programs should be spent on lowering class sizes. If you truly believe the classroom is the most important place, class sizes must be reduced.
We call for a similar inventory to be done of the testing required by the district. A report must be issued that shows how many student learning hours (or days) are lost due to testing.
Our members call for a program to be implemented by the start of the 2008-09 school year to deal with chronic disruptors. Students cannot learn and teachers cannot teach when a few students with habitual behavior problems are allowed to disrupt classroom learning. Placing an adequate number of counselors in every school will help to address a multitude of student needs. This will prevent some students from ever becoming disruptors. We must also address the epidemic of teen pregnancies. The cycle of teen pregnancies has had a tremendous impact on MPS.
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors and the administration must expand educational opportunities for students by restoring the arts. It is a wise investment if you truly want to decrease the drop-out rate.
Lastly and very simply, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors and administration must show appreciation for its teachers, educational assistants, substitute teachers, and accountants/bookkeepers. They need to be treated as professionals and need to be told thank you for the tremendous job that they do each day. It is a difficult job to be an educator in Milwaukee, and as the MTEA President has said many times, we have the best educators in Wisconsin. These men and women are dedicated to ensuring that every student in MPS has an opportunity to learn and that every student receives a quality education. But you must give teachers the tools to effectively do their job.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the issues raised in this letter. I will anticipate your response within the next two weeks.
On behalf of the 8,000 members of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association,
Tom Morgan
MTEA Executive Director