Meeting 30
May 12-13, 2016
San José, California
The California Collaborative on District Reform convened in San José for a two-day meeting, Ensuring Equitable Access to High Quality Teaching: Human Capital in San José. The discussion explored key strategies that districts use to develop comprehensive human capital systems to improve student learning opportunities and meet equity goals. The meeting explored issues of district culture and the ways in which strong relationships make growth possible. It also examined the possibilities for districts to design teacher leadership roles to attract, retain, and reward strong teachers and give traditionally disadvantaged students access to quality teachers. Finally, meeting participants considered possible changes to state policy under which districts and their labor partners might approach issues of tenure, evaluation, and dismissal to better meet shared goals. Participants received a briefing book of resources and literature that included information about the San José context, challenges that stand in the way of professional culture and quality, systems that can support quality teaching and access to it, and the policy context for human capital reform.
Meeting Summary (PDF 532 KB)
Briefing Book
- Cover Letter (PDF 379 KB)
- Agenda
- San José Background
- San José Economic Environment
- Challenges to Professional Culture & Quality
- Designing Systems to Support Quality Teaching
- Equitable Access to Quality Teaching
- Policy Context for Human Capital Reform
Follow-Up
Report produced as an outcome from Meeting 30.
From Combat to Collaboration:The Labor-Management Partnership in San José Unified School District (PDF, 1.84 MB)
December 2017
It started with a cup of coffee. In the wake of an intense contract negotiation, and against the backdrop of a district bankruptcy, multiple teacher strikes, and a wave of mistrust that veterans of the era still refer to as “rock bottom,” the San José Unified superintendent and the San José Teachers Association president decided to chart a different path forward. A new report from the California Collaborative on District Reform, From Combat to Collaboration, explores the way in which the district and union laid the groundwork for a new way of working together, how leaders have continued to foster and deepen the partnership, the day-to-day policies and practices that allow the relationship to flourish, and how collaboration enables the district to better serve its students. The report concludes with a set of lessons that can inform other districts and unions seeking to develop a more productive relationship.