CPS and CTU Reach a Deal

A tentative contract deal was announced yesterday between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union. Although the details were not discussed publicly, our sources tell us that nothing too radical was agreed upon. The teachers are expected to get around 4 percent each year of the deal. CTU President Marilyn Stewart suggested to Crain's Chicago Business that the CTU managed to restore some of what was lost in the previous contract, which was negotiated by the leadership group headed by former CTU president Deborah Lynch. That contract expired June 30, and it was a source of contention among some teachers who felt that the gains negotiated previously came at the expense of several generations of new teachers.

Besides wages and benefits, the union and the administration have had their own issues to contend with. For the administration, it's the length of the school day. "Five hours and 30 minutes of instruction is not really much,” Daley told CBS-2. “I believe in a 12 month school year, school year for all year, 12 months of the year." For teachers, it's a principal's right to fire any new teacher with less than 4 years (tenure) at the end of the school year with no justification. Another change that may be coming is the potential to have a better teacher evaluation process in place.

After the contentious election where Stewart criticized Lynch for selling out non-tenured teachers, the union has had to work hard to deliver as promised while CPS shifts more power to principals. One of the complaints of the evaluation process has been that principals give little constructive feedback to new teachers, while still employing a method for evaluations that many consider outdated. While the headlines in the coming weeks will be about pension pickup, health care costs, cost of living adjustments, and twenty years of labor peace in the schools, it will be interesting to see if a new teacher evaluation process will be implemented.

Image via Pantagrapher.