IN THE NAME of educational reform, Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston and Governor Patrick have proposed legislation that would strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights. Their approach is both unfair to teachers and unresponsive to the needs of students who attend so-called underperforming schools. Educational reform efforts should be directed at giving children what they need, not taking away from teachers the rights that they deserve.
In the big picture, Massachusetts public schools students, by and large, do very well in achievement. Teachers at public schools throughout the state are unionized and work under contracts that are collectively bargained with their school committees. States that do not allow their teachers the right to unionize and bargain contracts do far worse in terms of student academic achievement than Massachusetts. There is no justification for depriving teachers of these rights in the name of educational reform.
The mayor and governor assert that teacher unions and their contracts are an obstacle to reform. They want to lift the cap on charter schools and create more “union free’’ schools, their argument being, evidently, that students in underperforming schools do poorly because of union contracts. This does not make sense, because the contracts for teachers at Boston Latin School and other high-performing schools are no different from the contracts covering teachers at schools where student achievement is at its lowest.
In touting their reforms, both Menino and Patrick proclaim they are putting the interests of children before the interests of adults, clearly implying that they have to protect children from uncaring and unreasonable teachers. Their assertion is unfair and insulting to the thousands of teachers who work daily with these children. Sound educational programs for students and fair contracts for teachers are not mutually exclusive.
It is no surprise that the great bulk of “underperforming’’ schools are located in the poorest neighborhoods of the state’s largest cities. The problem plaguing these schools is not teachers or their unions or their contracts: The problem is poverty. By far, the greatest predictor of student achievement is the income level of the student’s household. Of course, that does not mean that a poor kid cannot do well in school. However, most students living in poverty do require extra attention and extra resources to help overcome the myriad disadvantages that poverty brings.
The first step is to accept that if we are serious about closing the achievement gap, we must begin to help long before these children arrive for the first day of school. The beginning point is adequate prenatal care for mothers, followed by information and training for parents on fostering their children’s good health and social and intellectual growth from birth. The period from birth to age 5 is critical in determining a child’s long -range educational success.
Most parents want to do the right thing for their children, but far too many simply do not know how. This outreach and involvement with parents in the poorest communities will require the coordinated efforts of social service agencies, neighborhood health clinics, community organizations, and schools.
The next step is assuring these children access to quality day care and early education programs, followed by mandatory all-day kindergarten. Once in school, children from these poorer neighborhoods should be guaranteed small class size, adequate materials and resources, a longer school day, and quality before- and after-school programs. Obviously, they also need highly qualified and dedicated teachers. And to attract and retain these teachers, we need fair compensation, good working conditions and benefits, and reasonable protections. These are guaranteed through collective bargaining.
Addressing the pernicious effects of poverty on children’s education will be difficult and costly. Perhaps that is the reason that so many politicians find it easier to scapegoat teachers and their unions than provide real solutions to the problems facing these students. Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick should redirect their educational reform efforts and focus on the needs of children.
Ed Doherty, former president of the Boston Teachers Union, is special assistant to the president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts. 
