Education in Rochester is being transformed by collaboration between organized labor, school district administrators and elected officials, and that model can be duplicated across New York. That was the message delivered by Rochester education and civic leaders in their welcome speeches during the first general session of the 2006 Representative Assembly.
"If you're all in the same boat, it matters little which end leaks," said Rochester TA President Adam Urbanski (pictured at right), describing the excellent cooperation he has received from administrators and new Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy.
Manuel Rivera, Rochester's superintendent and the current national Superintendent of the Year, praised NYSUT for helping to lobby for much-needed school funding for Rochester - a sentiment that was echoed by Duffy.
"With NYSUT, Rochester received millions more than it would have otherwise," Rivera said.
Domingo Garcia, president of the Rochester Board of Education, pledged that the board would continue working with education unions to "bring the best education possible to the children of Rochester."
Mayor Duffy, who is the son of a public school teacher and was supported in his candidacy by the RTA, asked NYSUT delegates to "not let up one bit" in their quest to bring more educational funding and accountability to New York's public schools.
"You have shown what labor, speaking with one voice, can do," he said.