I wondered in October whether Robert Bobb, Detroit Public School’s Emergency Financial Manager, would be able to deliver on this goal for a transformative new union contract, in which the problems with tenure and teacher seniority are addressed. Well, this was a busy weekend in Michigan--Bobb lost his bid to gain control over academics in Detroit (in addition to his financial role), while at the same time the Detroit Federation of Teachers ratified a new contract that the Wall Street Journal hailed as “innovative” and The Detroit News says is “designed to make children’s learning a higher priority than it has been in decades in the city’s public schools.” But, from what I can glean, its innovation lies mainly in the novel (to American education) idea that teachers might not actually be guaranteed a raise each year...Read it here.
