Coming to the Rational Middle: A Conversation About Unionism and Reform

At E4E-LA's event, "The Rational Middle," sixty teachers convened with education stakeholders to discuss how teachers can work within their unions for change. Marshall Tuck, CEO of the Partnership for LA Schools, A.J. Duffy, former President of UTLA, Arielle Zurzulo, President of the Green Dot Teachers Union, and Marco Petruzzi, CEO of Green Dot, spoke to the teachers, the majority of whom had been teaching for at least six years.

The conversation centered around strategies to improve LA schools. "If teachers want change, they have to get active, get involved, and become a part of the helpful agitation that changes the system," said A.J. Duffy. Forty-five percent of teachers in the audience said "polarizing people and ideas" were the biggest obstacle to union/district collaboration in LA, and another 27 percent thought the biggest obstacle was "disengagement among educators and stakeholders."

Read more about what teachers and speakers said in the summary memo here: