Toledo Teachers: We Want A School Without Administrators
Toledo Federation of Teachers (TFT) President Fran Lawrence recently announced TFT’s proposal to transform an underperforming Toledo elementary school into an administrator-free operation. Pickett Elementary would become a “neighborhood center”, partnering with a variety of agencies and services to help the students as well as the members of the surrounding community. Ohio Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman has expressed interest in the proposal, as have a number of Toledo Board of Education members.
The lone dissenting voice has been the Toledo Association of Administrative Personnel, the union that represents administrators in the Toledo Public Schools.
Reactions in the blogosphere have thus far been surprisingly optimistic– Eduwonk Andy Rotherham is on board with the idea, as is confirmed teachers’ union watchdog and skeptic Mike Antonucci.