As a private education institution, Parker employees are not part of the greater Chicago Teachers Union, CTU, which exclusively represents Chicago Public School, CPS, employees. Unlike CPS teachers, the salaries and benefits of Parker faculty come directly from Parker’s administration and board of trustees. At Parker, the system is different. Though Parker teachers do have their own union, there are no strikes and no publicized negotiations, but instead just a quiet team selected to be the voice of Parker’s teaching staff.
The negotiation team is made up of nine Parker teachers chosen by their peers to represent the faculty in discussions with the school administration. Intentionally, after every negotiation cycle, lasting usually between two to six years,half of the team is kept on to serve for an additional consecutive negotiation, while the other half is elected in. This system keeps the group both experienced and fresh, allowing for perspective and wisdom to work together to keep the team productive. The group operates largely behind the scenes, and many students may not even know it exists. While our faculty and board both have the same goal of keeping our school in the best shape possible, financially, the teachers and the board’s interests lie separately.
Fourth grade teacher Miriam Pickus, a four time member of the group, described the different points of view. “In general, their interest [The board] is in keeping costs low so that the school can run effectively. The faculty on the other hand, primarily our goal is to protect the health and financial needs of the teachers,” Pickus said. This is a difference in interest, not a conflict, but rather, a dynamic, as the group doesn’t work against the board but rather with it.
Upper School math teacher Steven Tyler was recently elected to serve his first term as one of the nine representatives. “This is my first go around, and I am excited and would like to continue to do this,” Tyler said. “It’s very important work. We’re deciding on things that could be happening on the professional side of our school,” Tyler said. Beyond the faculty representation, Tyler claims the group has given him a more complete view of the school as a whole. “I’m getting to work with some people and hear about other components of the school that I really don’t know a lot about,” Tyler said, “Even though we are one school, you know, one community, what happens in JK, or first grade doesn’t really impact what’s happening much over here in the Upper School, and so it’s very nice to hear perspectives and positives.”
While Tyler speaks of his appreciation for hearing new perspectives, students are left often without hearing about what goes on in these meetings. “I’ve heard bits and pieces about this group but not much and I wish I knew more about what was happening, it’s a side of the school we don’t often get the opportunity to see and while it doesn’t often affect us directly decisions made have a large impact on our school,” junior Tallulah Koening said.
“What I would share with students is that we as a faculty have agreed to work on things as a collective, and I think that says something about the school because we really didn’t have too. It’s a choice we made because we know that as a staff we are stronger together,”Pickus said. Parker Teachers don’t just preach democracy, they practice it, and this group serves as a shining example of what Parker believes in.
