Oklahoma City AFT Blueprint
No one should get a pass on school reform. School reform can be advanced by legislation that shares accountability and responsibility. The Oklahoma Legislature should incentivize school districts to voluntarily adopt comprehensive reform, using the school funding formula to increase assistance.
Key points from the Oklahoma City AFT Shared Accountability and Responsibility Blueprint that could be included in a legislative reform package.
Student Achievement and Behavior
- Create a new school design which includes a longer school day and/or school year.
- Behavior matters and all stakeholders desire safe and orderly schools. Develop an alternative placement system that removes the 5 percent of students who hold hostage the education of the remaining 95 percent.
School Improvement and Reform
- Devise a career ladder compensation system that recognizes specific teacher accomplishments, which could include pay for performance.
Quality Teaching and Development
- Quality training for teachers, particularly new teachers, is a rarity and certainly not the norm. Establish a Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program for all new teachers and for career teachers in need of improvement.
Contractual or Policy Elements
- Set guidelines for collective bargaining agreements and district policy in order to receive increased assistance.
Collaboration
- There is a ‘public’ in public education. Conduct focus groups and survey all stakeholders to secure reliable data for informed decision making.
Let’s not make school improvement more difficult to achieve
- Legislation that is perceived as an attack on teachers will adversely affect school improvement.
- Divisive issues that gut collective bargaining or forbid payroll deduction of union dues divert us from proposals that truly make a difference and neuter the one institutional organization that can sell reform to teachers.
- Caution should be used when addressing school deregulation. Not all deregulation ideas were born equal.