Team up with the City

We teachers -- via the PFT -- must team up with the city to improve not only our schools, but our communities as well. If our communities improve, the schools within those communities will improve. For too long, teachers have been asked not only to play the role of teacher but also parent, professional counselor, etc. We teachers go above and beyond the call of duty every day; however, for us to be blamed for not being able to solve all of the problems our students bring with them to school is absurd.

We must meet with city officials in an effort to establish a new era of parent and community involvement and accountability. Although we do go above and beyond the call of duty, there's only so much we teachers can do.

If reading scores are abysmal in parts of our community, there must be a community-wide effort to improve those scores. Learning should not begin with the first bell and end with the last. The community must step up and keep the learning alive long after the school day ends. We teachers have been doing our part and then some. It's time for the community to step up. The PFT should play a major role in facilitating this effort.