Educator of the Year—and Beyond
During the 12 years Randi Weingarten was president of the United Federation of Teachers, I often battled with her in these pages. But when she was promoted in 2008 to be the head of the national American Federation of Teachers, she gave an acceptance speech that—as I told her in our first friendly conversation—surprised and greatly gladdened me.
She championed an organic change in our public school systems by focusing on “community schools.” The most creative, life-heightening prototype of this way of lifelong learning for students, teachers, and parents is Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone. If only every city had a version of it, and not only for black kids.
I can’t imagine current UFT leader Michael Mulgrew or our soon-to-be-departing Education Mayor being at home in the Harlem Children’s Zone. But community schools are increasing in the nation, and Randi Weingarten continues to make and sharpen the case for them.
On May 20, in an AFT ad in The New York Times—the content of which should have been a front-page story in the Times, especially with a new mayor soon coming in—Randi, in “Schools and Communities Stronger Together,” explains the core and soul of students, teachers, and principals discovering what they’re here for in this country and world.
Every candidate for mayor and every voter—and students—should know what she keeps learning: “Community schools are neighborhood schools that meet students’ academic, enrichment, social, and health needs by coordinating partners and resources … community schools connect the school, students, families, and the neighborhood.