The following vignette is based on the workshop “Building Equitable and Empowering Work Agreements,” designed by Connie Borab with Alison Hramiec, teachers at Boston Day and Evening Academy. 

Everyone in the community wins when staff and administrators negotiating election-to-work agreements come together as colleagues with a common purpose: to create a livable and sustainable agreement that empowers all staff and administrators to realize, over time, the school’s individual mission and that puts student learning at the center of the agreement.

The workshop “Building Equitable and Empowering Work Agreements” offers ten principles based on the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) principles that serve as guidelines when negotiating a work agreement in a Pilot School or Horace Mann charter school, many of which are aligned with CES principles. Connie Borab and Alison Hramiec, teachers at Boston Day and Evening Academy, suggest that the opening section of an election-to-work agreement should include the school’s mission statement, an explanation of the school’s unique Pilot pedagogy, the purpose of the agreement, and the school’s priorities for the year. Including this information is important to enabling each staff person to decide whether his or her philosophy and beliefs fit with the mission of the particular Pilot School. 

Work conditions, job descriptions, a dispute resolution process, and other details are to be included in the body of the work agreement. Questions to consider are: What are the tasks required in the job description? Are they grounded in the prioritized vision/goals? Across Pilot Schools, the agreements will vary, because “one size doesn’t fit all,” according to Borab.     
During discussions both staff and administration must realize that, “rather than trying to get something for you, it’s for the students.” It is recommended that at least 15% of the schedule for the week be devoted to teacher prep time. “It allows us to create a work time that everyone needs, but doesn’t lock us into the union. It allows for flexibility.” An election-to-work agreement committee is “causing good conversation” at Boston Day and Evening Academy, according to Borab and Hramiec. The committee consists of three day faculty, two evening faculty, and the principal.