AFT Paraprofessional and School-Related Personnel Conference

Shanker is talking to a conference of AFT Paraprofessionals. His introduction is about how the United Federation of Teachers brought Paras into their fold and how the solidarity between teachers and paras grew quickly. He talks about the idea of certification for paras in schools that would increase their prominence in the schools. The speech then moves to the danger of privatization in public schools. Shanker gives a history of how the AFL-CIO started to endorse presidential candidates and what the AFT will be doing to get good questions to presidential candidates via polling and letter campaigns. The speech goes back to the idea of certification and career ladders for paras by using the study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed that continuing education for personnel benefits school districts.

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