In this article, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Lorretta Johnson reflects on her early work as a paraprofessional at Liberty Elementary School (Baltimore, Maryland) and what sparked her union activism nearly 50 years ago in 1966. It was that year that she and her colleagues joined the Baltimore Teachers Union…

While most teachers in Tennessee remain in their positions for many years, it is also the case that some of the most effective teachers depart each year, either to go teach in a different school, a different district, or sometimes to leave the profession entirely. Not all of these moves are avoidable, but finding ways to retain as many high…

Purpose: Knowledge about principals' leadership roles in charter schools' success has become more important as the number of charter schools increases and as we have learned more about the influence of principal leadership on school effectiveness. To contribute to the limited empirical literature on the principal labor market, this study explores…

The authors examine how the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiated between teachers' unions and districts is associated with schools' and districts' performance under accountability pressures in California. They find that CBA restrictiveness is associated with the increased likelihood that districts will be in Program Improvement (PI)…

This report contains case studies of international recruiters who help school districts in the United States acquire work visas and hire noncitizens. Recruiters sometimes use fees charged to workers to pay for U.S. school officials' overseas trips, where they stay in luxury hotels and handpick teachers at job fairs. Not surprisingly, some school…

In January 2009, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the Colorado Education Association (CEA) initiated a 13-city teacher tour to engage teachers in a statewide discussion about CAP4K, its relevance to practice, its impact on teaching and learning and the kind of help that teachers would find useful for classroom implementation. Between…

Although there is a significant body of work related to overall teacher attrition and mobility, little research has been conducted that is specifically related to English teachers. Given the predominance of high-stakes reading and writing assessments for middle and high school students, studying those who teach literacy is critical for a better…

Randall Eberts explores the role of teachers unions in public education. He focuses particularly on how collective bargaining agreements shape the delivery of educational services, how unions affect both student achievement and the cost of providing quality education, and how they support educational reform efforts. Eberts's synthesis of the…

The author discusses three threats to the American way of life: the first threat is related to human and technological growth; the second is a new division of labor; and the third threat is security and safety. The author suggests two solutions to address these challenges: (1) better technological planning and decisions based on technological…

Until a few years ago the Southern States were considered in the main an agricultural section. More recently the advantageous location in respect to raw materials, minerals, water, and electric power of the South Atlantic States has occasioned an almost unprecedented growth in manufacturing industries. Particularly has the cotton manufacturing…