Reform Update: Unusual Balance Of Praise For Final CT Deal

In the recent past -- think IL or FL, DC, or even CO -- reforms have been seen as big wins for one side or the other.  Your side either won, or it got blocked or pushed back.  Yay!  Boo!  

Connecticut is shaping up a little bit differently, at least in how it's been messaged, in that both reformers and education leaders (union presidents, etc.) are generally praising the final deal.  There's Michelle Rhee talking about the deal on Fox (here).  There's a statement from the AFT (here).  There's CEA union president May Loftus Levine attending the bill-signing ceremony (pictured, and here).  

Of course, sometimes the make nice is just a momentary blip, a minute of exhaustion before the different sides go back to trying to scuttle each other.  And sometimes the make nice is the result of a final package that doesn't do very much -- still a concern of mine and others when it comes to some of the state laws have been passed.  But it seems worth noting that both sides had it out during the negotiations and are now singing the praises of the result.  The only ones left out in the cold are those at the far ends of the spectrum for whom it's all or nothing, bashing the compromises and those who made them.  

Comments

[Sarah]

Maybe, just maybe, this is the start of a trend when people will work out differences and not just agree for the sake of ending negotiations quickly. I hope this works out for CT. Their plan sounds reasonable and might fix some of the bigger issues I've heard about from students who come from CT schools.