For UFT Leader, a Hectic Opening
First-Day Blues in Minor Key

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

It was the first day of school and United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was belted in and barreling down the FDR Drive, listening to a couple dozen district reps report on the relative calm and chaos of the day.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: Principal Ben Soccodato (left) took United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernie Logan and City Councilman James Vacca on a tour of P.S. 83 on the first day of school, checking in with Teachers along the way. With the exception of 30 6th-grade students having to use the library as a classroom, the school's semester got off to a smooth start.

As the black SUV weaved in between mid-day traffic, the cell-phone-diluted voices of the UFT staff members competed with the lurches and pops of some of the city's most formidable potholes. Their abbreviated reports presented a snapshot of the turmoil beneath the school system's seemingly smooth surface.

Overcrowding, No-Shows

The majority of schools were moving along without incident as the Sept. 4 school day neared its end, but every district had a handful of issues. District 6 in upper Manhattan was experiencing serious overcrowding problems. At P.S. 276 in Brooklyn, the Principal didn't show up until 9:30 a.m. There were new Teachers at P.S. 6 with no file numbers. At I.S. 49, a school deemed in need of improvement and classified as persistently dangerous, there was no plan to replace a Dean who resigned or a departed Assistant Principal who oversaw security. Ms. Weingarten took notes on each school and shot back questions and suggestions.

There was more. At P.S. 227, Teachers were being given double assignments during professional periods, in violation of an arbitration case settled last year. Thomas Jefferson High School was one classroom short and two classes were assigned to occupy the same room. A couple of the new District 79 schools, which were re-organized in May, reported zero student registration.

The conference call was relatively brief: only about an hour compared to one of two hours each the previous Thursday and Friday. And it would be followed up by another call the following day.

"This is the only way to do it," Ms. Weingarten said, as the driver turned on the GPS system and headed for P.S. 234 in Tribeca. "You have to get ahead of the problems."

'Have to Get Ahead'

It may not have been complete chaos on the first day of school this year, but clearly the Herculean task of simultaneously seating 1.1 million children at their desks hit some roadblocks. Earlier in the day a district rep in The Bronx had told his union leader that P.S. 189 had 375 seats available, but only 79 students registered because the zoning process had been fouled up. Meanwhile the schools surrounding it were packed, with waiting lists 30-deep for kindergarten slots.

Nonetheless, a well-choreographed show of unity kicked off the day at 8 a.m. at P.S. 53 in The Bronx. Standing side by side were the Governor, the City Council Speaker, the Schools Chancellor, and the heads of the Teachers' and Principals' unions, all at the personal invitation of the Mayor. In her decade as union president, Ms. Weingarten had never been asked to stand next to the Mayor on the first day of school.

Marked Change in Tone

Mr. Bloomberg made a point of thanking Ms. Weingarten when he announced the new crop of 6,000 well-qualified teachers who were entering the system. It was a sharp contrast to last spring when the UFT and a coalition of parents and community groups were at loggerheads with the Mayor over a large-scale reorganization of the school system.

But the theme of cooperation was struck repeatedly throughout the day, along with the expression of measured hopes for more tranquil relations among the adults who run the schools.

"We started saying for this reorganization to work," said Ms. Weingarten, "instead of just saying we're against it - it's here already - then there has to be real collaboration."

That cooperation will be the most important at the school level, according to both Ms. Weingarten and Ernie Logan, the president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators.

'About Building a Vision'

"The Principal is in charge, but it's about building a vision and understanding and support for that vision," he said as he walked the halls of P.S. 83 in The Bronx with Ms. Weingarten, several hours after their joint appearance with the Mayor. "The Principal and the chapter leaders will talk more before a situation gets out of hand."

The UFT head noted that the new structure of the school system, which gives Principals greater decision-making power and more responsibility for student achievement, in essence mandated the closer working relationships. "There must be a real partnership between a Principal and the staff of a school, because schools are now islands," she said. Some district reps said they thought the new structure might actually work in favor of Teachers, with disputes being settled within a school without interference from central headquarters.

The island that Ms. Weingarten and Mr. Logan were visiting that afternoon appeared to have its staff all on the same page. Two fourth-grade Teachers were waiting for their students in a tidy, colorful room with desks set up in clusters of four. They told their union leader that they loved teaching at the school.

He Leads to Serve

Principal Ben Soccodato, clearly pleased to show off the welcoming and well-organized room, mentioned that he had his maintenance staff bring the desks and chairs to the rooms so the Teachers didn't have to drag the furniture down the stairwells and through the halls.

"As you should, and good for you," nodded Ms. Weingarten approvingly. "It's just a little common sense," he replied.

Then the union leader asked about class size. Christina Torrieri said her class this year had 29 kids and Antoinetta Ruocco was set to teach 27 children. Ms. Weingarten turned to a couple of nearby UFT staffers. "Did you hear that?" she asked. "We need to keep track of this." She explained to the Teachers that the goal of Governor Spitzer's five-year plan for class-size reduction was to bring down class size to 25, although for young children she believed it should be closer to 20. "That would be wonderful," said Ms. Torrieri, beaming.

The Principal of the 1,600-student school chimed in. "I agree with you that's the key to education," he said. "Not to have 29 children sitting in a room; to have 21, 22, in parity with the suburbs. That's why they do well."

Stuck in the Library

Mr. Soccodato was also in the midst of coping with a more immediate overcrowding problem. He had more than 30 children on a waiting list for sixth grade sitting in a library in lieu of a classroom. They had two Teachers assigned and had already started on their first lesson of the year, but he would have to find a permanent place for them eventually.

"If they're going to give us the responsibility, I'll take it without a problem," Mr. Soccodato said. "But then give me the responsibility; don't surprise me and send me five children from special education who need seats when I have 31 kids already on the waiting list for the grade."

It was not immediately clear how to resolve the conflict. "The problem is I've been told by [the Office of Student Enrollment, Planning and Operations] to do one thing, but then the committee on special education is telling these parents you have the right to attend this school," he said.

Ms. Weingarten took note of the story and later instructed her district and borough reps to keep a record of where the overcrowding was occurring.

As the day wound down and children returned to their homes with freshly loaded backpacks, Ms. Weingarten was wrapping up the day at P.S. 234. She and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer talked with the school staff and parents, who smiled politely but were mostly focused on finding their children amid the swarm of just-dismissed students.

A Positive Light

The union president then headed back to the office to map out a plan for the following day, but she saw the day's events in a positive light, emphasizing her message of collaboration, which echoed the union's radio advertisements that began running that day. Ms. Weingarten said she took seriously Mr. Bloomberg's gesture of cooperation that morning. "If that's what the Governor and the Mayor and the Chancellor want, if they're going to model that behavior, I will stand with them," she said. Then her face became more serious and she added, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to take them on when members are getting screwed."