Rochester city school teachers are not happy with the proposed changes to the district’s code of conduct or with recommendations to improve school climate, says Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Union.
The Community Task Force on School Climate released a 65-page proposal last month. The group worked for months on a code that moves away from suspensions as the primary disciplinary tool to a policy based on restorative justice principles and social-emotional support.
The proposal’s recommendations emphasize anti-racism training for teachers, as well as training in restorative justice practices.
But Urbanski says that the proposal echoes a familiar refrain of late: that teachers need to be fixed.
Teachers’ concerns are largely dismissed, he says, particularly when many are worried about their safety. Urbanski says that alternatives to suspension, such as placement in special programs or schools, are needed for some students.
Though some of the task force’s recommendations apply to all school staff, teachers clearly spend the most time with students. Their support of the task force’s recommendations is widely seen as critical to the proposal’s implementation.
Rosemary Rivera is organizing director of Citizen Action of New York and worked with the task force on the recommendations. She says that the group has been mindful of how teachers would respond to the proposal.
“We are trying to support them,” Rivera says. “We’re not saying teachers are racists. We’re saying that institutional racism exists. We want to provide them with the tools to create a more positive school environment.”
Data on suspensions in city schools shows that children of color are suspended at disproportionately higher rates than white children for the same kinds of infractions.
Urbanski points out that teachers don’t suspend students. But Rivera says that teachers often initiate the process with a referral to an administrator.
“What we’re saying is, what do we need to do to lower those referrals and help you with classroom management?” Rivera says.
That misses the point, Urbanski says, and buys into the narrative that teachers are the problem. He cites a recent alleged incident at School 8 involving Cynthia Elliott, vice president of the city school board.
The RTA filed a class action grievance with the district after Elliott allegedly interrupted a recent professional development meeting and told teachers that if they don’t feel comfortable teaching in an urban setting, to leave. The grievance says that Elliott repeatedly cursed at the teachers in the meeting.
“I think this has a direct relevance to the Code of Conduct policy,” Urbanski says. “You can’t teach what you can’t model.”
Elliott did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Urbanski says that Elliott seems to be saying that teachers should resign themselves to physical and verbal abuse if they want to work in city schools and that they better not complain about it.
“The district has now lost any moral standing on the issue of Code of Conduct,” he says. “Why is it that the teachers union is the only one saying ‘You can’t talk to teachers this way’? Where is the outrage?”
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2015.
The RCSD wants to lower the standards for city school district students so they are not suspended. This is ridiculous. They should be held to higher standards because THAT is what will be expected of them in the work force. It may not be fair, but it is reality. Why should we accept, ” well, he is from the city, so that is why he acts this way.”?
You may have heard of “no go zones”. Those are zones in some of the EU cities where the police do not go. Simply to dangerous and not worth the risk. I think we are heading toward a new phenomenon in the urban school region, “no go zone for education” I’m not an Adam Urbanski fan, but in this case, he is right. To say that teachers are not racist, but that there is institutional racism is a bit strange. Where does this institutional racism come from, where does it exist, who is responsible for that? Apparently it is just “in the air”. That’s nonsense, you say. OK, then identify it. Address it. Solve it. You give, or suggest, that the teachers need anti-racism training and then say that the teachers are not racist. Something aint adding up here. But then again,….maybe this is another extension of the new common corps approach to educating, which is just as confusing.
Why would he care? He avoids teachers like the plague. travels the world on our dime, has zero job responsibilities and hasn’t taught in the City in over three decades. He’s like a groundhog who only pops his head out of his burrow when he senses a publicity opportunity.
Sorry, I was just trying to be tactful in my criticism,…won’t happen again. :)&:(
It is funny how Don Murphy knows so much about Adam Urbanski’s business! Are you a spy, lol?!
Headline: Urbanski is roadblock to progress…again
Remember also, it should not be a question of what’s good for teachers. It should only be about what’s good for students.
I was deeply disheartened when I read this article. I am the parent representative to the School Board’s Policy Committee, a member of the Community Task Force on School Climate (CTF) since its inception, and a member of the CTF committee that put together the new draft Code of Conduct. I agree with Mr. Urbanski that we need to stop the blame game. In fact, the CTF, with leadership and support from the youth at Teen Empowerment, has been moving past blame towards collaboration and the modeling of the care and respect we want to see in our school communities. Of course, it’s very hard to change the ways in which many of us were raised. We sometimes fall back into our old “ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,” of judgment and blame. The language and tone of this article suggest that’s what happened here.
Rather than responding directly to Mr. Urbanski’s comments about the draft Code of Conduct, I would like to bypass the blame and “meet” Mr. Urbanski and others in the mystic Rumi’s “field.” In this field, I would like us to speak with honesty and care, listen without judgment, build trust and work collaboratively to improve school climate.
Specifically, I ask that Mr. Urbanski and teachers listen to the CTF about the reasoning behind the recommendations and new draft Code of Conduct and about the participation of teachers, administrators and RTA representatives in the development of these documents. I also ask the CTF to listen to the concerns of Mr. Urbanski and teachers around safety and supports. Then, I invite all of us to work together to ensure that this new direction for the district will: create a climate where all members of the school community are treated with dignity, respect and care; improve school safety; keep more students in the classroom engaged in learning; and provide the supports necessary for teachers to teach and engage their students. These are not mutually exclusive goals; restorative justice practices can help ensure that we have all of these.
Rather than taking sides and creating divisions, let’s work together to improve the climate in the RCSD before another generation is lost.
I can “buy” into that proposal. (not that my approval is needed, appreciated nor required) Open and honest discussion is always welcome, period. That said, I would like to quote a passage out of a book that was written by Marine Corps General M. D. Gray, titled, Warfighting (The US Marine Corps book of strategy), which will help explain why the suggestion of a meeting between the two parties will be beneficial. It is as follows;
“This concept has several practical implications. First, We should establish long term working relationships to develop the necessary familiarity and trust. Second, key people-“actuals”-should talk directly to one another when possible, rather than through communicators or messengers. Third, we should communicate orally when possible, because we communicate also in HOW we talk; our inflections and tone of voice. And forth, we should communicate in person when possible, because we communicate also through our gestures and bearing.”
Since we are not on a battlefield and have the opportunity to follow this philosophy without getting shot, it might make sense to try this. It will cost neither party a dime but will take some time. Lets try this. Lets indeed NOT lose another generation to stubbornness, pride and “my way or the highway” attitude. You have much to gain with little chance of any loss. Make it happen!
Dutch,
Adam Urbanski is NOT “right,” but you are (at least partially), i.e., it IS correct that:
“To say that teachers are not racist, but that there is institutional racism is a bit strange. Where does this institutional racism come from, where does it exist, who is responsible for that? Apparently it is just “in the air”. That’s nonsense, you say. OK, then identify it. Address it. Solve it. You give, or suggest, that the teachers need anti-racism training and then say that the teachers are not racist. Something aint adding up here. “
I WILL EXPLAIN IT TO YOU AS SOON AS I FIND THE TIME (HOPEFULLY LATER TODAY).