Union Head Unhappy With City Plan

WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010

New York, NY —

Teachers union president Randi Weingarten is upset with the city's plan to remove teachers it deems incompetent. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has announced the creation of a team of consultants to work with struggling teachers.

REPORTER: The city will also have a team of attorneys to help principals get rid of teachers that don't improve. Weingarten says this is insulting to teachers and shows the Department of Education doesn't want to work to improve the schools.

WEINGARTEN: This was about not supporting floundering teachers and then seeing what we can do to help. And if we can't help, how do we deal with that in the most humane way possible? This is about first doing "gotcha" and that's what's wrong.

REPORTER: Weingarten says the union has been working to improve teacher performance. Klein says he has a fiduciary duty to the city's school children to get rid of failing teachers.

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