Posted by:
Shirley Hord
K-12 Classroom teacher
Austin, TX

Topic:
Cultivate Collegial Relationships

Message:
A collegial relationship can be cultivated with teacher unions and should be initiated early. That is, one should not wait until it is desirable to have a conversation about professional development, but begin the relationship now.

Inviting representatives of the union to participate with teachers who are planning staff development activities and inviting the representative to good examples of staff development in which teachers will participate are two ideas. Take the union reps with you to conferences that are relevant to teachers' staff development needs. Traveling to a conference and spending the day learning together with the union representative is an environment very different from making a call at his/her office and it invites more opportunities for meaningful interaction.

Tying professional development to student results is a vital message for the union to hear and understand.

Many union groups currently value research and this is another angle. Perhaps inviting the union to collaborate in designing and delivering some staff development activities based on research findings would be beneficial.

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