This group’s message seems to be paying dividends. Last month Jonathon Knapp, a moderate who believes unions should work with reformers whenever possible, was elected president of the Seattle Education Association, the state’s largest local teachers union.

“Simply saying ‘no’ is no longer an option,” Knapp told the Seattle Times. “The climate has changed, and we have to be advocates for public education in a way that 20 years ago we didn’t.  And the way that we do that is building relationships, not by confronting people and saying it’s our way or the highway.”

Meeting the needs of students

Christopher Eide is one of the individuals responsible for this new spirit of cooperation some teachers are exhibiting toward education reformers.

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In addition to being the co-founder and executive director of Teachers United, Eide is also an educator, who has worked in both charter and traditional public schools.

When he first started his career as a Teach for America corps member, Eide realized the public school system was not meeting the needs of its most at-risk students, and that teachers were in the best position to effect change.

He summed up the problems facing the state’s schools in a Seattle Times article:

“[In] Washington, more than 16,000 kids drop out of high school every year. More than half of low-income students and students of color are not reading at grade level. We are 43rd in the nation in terms of college participation for low-income students. Clearly, we are missing the mark, and our most at-risk kids are suffering disproportionately.”

The state’s education system faces other problems, too, including debilitating deficits, large-scale layoffs, overflowing classrooms, and an alarming number of students who don’t graduate on time.

Teachers United reflects Eide’s desire for educators to get actively involved in finding solutions to the many problems facing Washington State’s public schools. The group’s website encourages educators to “play a transformational role in making our system one that provides a superior education for all students” and to create “a movement of excellence.”

To date, Teachers United has met with over 200 teachers statewide, though its current membership numbers are not available.

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In May 2012, the group hosted a conference to discuss a variety of policy issues, including alternative school models, teacher evaluations, and prioritization of school funding. The group has also consulted with several state legislators about past and current legislation affecting public education.

The organization’s stance on education reform is simple. They believe, “as teachers, we should always begin with the question: ‘What does it mean for students?’”

Although all Teachers United members are also union members, their students first mentality has often put them at odds with union officials.

Eide recently lambasted the Washington Education Association for being uncooperative during a public hearing on legislation to allow school districts to make layoff decisions based on teacher evaluations rather than the traditional method of “last in, first out.”

“As a teacher, to have all these excuses made is just embarrassing,” said Eide.  The current system isn’t working when “only one to two percent of teachers are ranked unsatisfactory,” he said.

A change of climate

Teachers United’s has been working with the Seattle Education Association to improve the quality of education in the city.

And after years of defensive posturing, the Seattle union is adopting a more conciliatory tone. Knapp’s election as union president last month is a strong indication of that.

Earlier this year, Knapp helped solve a dispute between the SEA and Seattle school officials over the use of student test scores in teacher-evaluation ratings.

Knapp stepped in and proposed that the scores not be directly included in the ratings, but instead be used to prompt closer scrutiny and additional evaluations, if necessary. Both sides were happy with the compromise.

Knapp, perhaps more than most, knows the value of compromise.  In the spring of 1995, he spent 67 days in a Bosnian War prison camp after being captured while delivering medical supplies for a humanitarian organization called Pharmacies Without Borders, according to the news site.

“I understood for the first time how important the personal relationship is,” said Knapp. “Even if it’s a little bit tense and difficult and you’re really on the other side of an issue, having some personal contact with a person can make the difference.”

However, some rank-and-file union members are unhappy with Knapp’s leadership and the more conciliatory approach of the union.

“We’ve already compromised too much,” said Robert Murphy, a Franklin High math teacher.  “It’s like you’re compromising with the burglar who is in the burglar’s van with all of your stuff.  It’s like, ‘Oh, look, he’s going to give me back my TV.’ What the hell is that?”

But many union members are abandoning that point of view.

A recent survey conducted by The New Teacher Project found that of 9,000 teachers in two large urban-school districts, nearly three out of four said that factors other than seniority should be considered in layoff decisions.

The real test of where Seattle teachers stand on reform will come next summer when Knapp and his union negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the school board.

If the SEA comes to the bargaining table willing to focus on student needs, Seattle school officials seem eager to find common ground.

“If we work together, we’re going to get better results than if we’re in a publicly adversarial relationship,” said Seattle school board President Michael DeBell.

This might represent a brand new era for public education in Washington State.