UTLA Does Support LEARN School Reforms

As LEARN school teachers, we applaud teacher Adrienne Mack’s decision to vote for LEARN at her school and wholeheartedly agree with her conclusion that LEARN “gives a school a chance to re-create itself.” (Valley Commentary, Sept. 18).

However, in listing the fears expressed by a few teachers who are not participating in LEARN, she mistakenly characterizes our union as not supportive of LEARN, when in fact, the LEARN schools have the full support of our union’s leadership. We also enjoy the support of the union’s rank-and-file members as demonstrated by UTLA’s House of Representatives’ vote to support its members’ efforts at LEARN schools.

As strong unionists and enthusiastic advocates for the LEARN reform effort, we know that reform and unionism go hand in hand. Our union president, Helen Bernstein, trusts teachers to be decision makers and supports our innovation as we lead the LEARN districtwide transformation of the Los Angeles Unified School District into a system that actively supports and nurtures school-level autonomy and flexibility.

Ms. Mack also overlooks the fact that becoming a LEARN school is a decision made collectively by all members of a school community, not just teachers. Many Valley faculties are eager to participate in LEARN and are working with their principal, parents or school staff, who may still need more time to learn about and discuss this reform effort.

To those few teachers still expressing fear of reform, we invite you to visit a LEARN school and see for yourself that together we can create collaborative school communities working to improve learning for all students. Just as our colleague Adrienne Mack suggests, those of us at LEARN schools are creating “an exciting, dynamic, challenging place for both students and teachers.”

MONICA STUDER

HECTOR COLON

Studer is UTLA chapter chair at Wilson High School, Los Angeles. Colon teaches at Francis Polytechnic High School, Sun Valley.