The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, called for parents and teachers to be included more in the accountability system for schools.
“What we’re saying in terms of the investment is if you actually ask parents and teachers ‘what do you need to teach and what do your kids need to learn?’ And then make them a part of that accountability system,” Weingarten told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“Make that part of the audit of a school,” she continued. “There’s a bunch of plain English things that we could do to make this work, but it starts with actually believing that teachers should teach children as opposed to the accountability agencies for bureaucracy.”
“That’s the change in culture that we actually need, and teachers would thrive,” she said.
Weingarten’s comments come as educators in a number of cities and states are on strike, or planning to strike, requesting smaller class sizes, pay raises, and other investments in public education.
Chicago teachers at three of the city’s schools hit the picket lines on Thursday, while North and South Carolina teachers rallied earlier this week.
Sacramento, Calif., teachers announced on Tuesday they would be going on strike later this month.
— Julia Manchester
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