John Carlos Benros is a second-year 10th-grade global history teacher at the NYC Charter High School for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries (AECI) in the Bronx.
Q: Why did you decide to become a charter school teacher?
A: I decided to become a charter school teacher because I wanted to venture into the “new model.” I had gone to New York City public schools my whole life so I wanted to venture out. The kids are the same; it’s all about the teachers and the relationships they build with students. It’s a matter of what individual teachers can do with particular students, classes and schools.
Q: How has the union made a difference for your school?
A: One thing is that the board of trustees has requested more teacher input. For example, the school is in the process of hiring a new assistant principal and three teachers are on the search committee. We’re also forming an academic committee and a school thematic committee since the theme of the school is architecture and engineering.
Organizing also brought teachers together. Prior to that, there was a separation between teachers who had been at the school last year and new teachers who came to the school this year. Since organizing, that divide is gone and it is a positive development for the entire school community.
Q: What would you say to your colleagues in non-union charter schools about the union?
A: I would say three things to them. First, I would tell them that I know people tell horror stories about unions, that once you have a union your job gets caught up in red tape. But that’s not true.
Second, I would tell them that a union creates continuity. When you organize, you create a situation with benefits comparable to the district schools and teachers have an incentive to stay.
Finally, I’d tell them that the one advantage we have over district colleagues is that those of us who organize have the ability to negotiate with our individual school boards. So we’re holding the “red tape” – it’s not something you walk into, it is something you make to protect yourself and your colleagues. And if you stay at the school long enough, it is something you can change. It’s not a decree handed down to you from some anonymous union or administrator.
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