MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A new union contract between Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers will loosen traditionally stifling work rules at the district’s best and worst schools.

That can only be a plus for students.

While we’re certain that the proposed union pact still has plenty of foolish and wasteful provisions (like all teacher union contracts do), we have to give credit to the MFT for negotiating in good faith, and allowing some of Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson’s reform ideas to be incorporated into the document.

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“We’ve been paying more attention to rules and mandates than our kids,” said MFT President Lynn Nordgren. “This is a chance to bring schools to life again … It’s really an exciting opportunity.”

The tentative contract, which has yet to be approved by teachers or board members, would create two new categories of schools in the district: High Priority Schools and Community Partnership Schools, the Minneapolis Post reports.

High Priority Schools represent the bottom 25 percent of MPS schools as measured by student proficiency and growth rates. The new contract agreement would allow school officials to hire staff for the schools much earlier than normal, end the forced placement of teachers who could not find jobs in other schools, and allow school officials to hire from outside of the district teacher pool, according to the news site.

Those are significant changes because union rules often stipulate that principals must hire employees by seniority, with preference to employees from within the district who frequently have minimum qualifications. The new pact would allow principals of MPS’ most troubled schools to craft a team of teachers that best fits the academic program.

Community Partnership Schools (which could include some of those in the first category) are schools selected by the superintendent to adapt their educational approach to what works best for students. Essentially, the district’s highest- and lowest-performing schools could apply to the superintendent for immunity from many of the union work rules that restrict the length and number of school days, as well as other contract provisions and district protocols.

The schools could adopt a specific curricular focus, and would receive many of the same flexibilities in hiring as High Priority Schools. Special committees within Community Partnership Schools would work to develop redesign plans, but Superintendent Johnson would have the final say, the Post reports.

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“It’s important to let schools differentiate or have some flexibility about what the site feels is needed to be successful with their students,” Rick Kreyer, MPS’s executive director of human resources – and one of the district’s contract negotiators – told the news site. “It’s about creating a system to be flexible enough to identify what’s working.”

Another benefit of the proposed pact is a provision that would allow principals to remove a small subset of underperforming teachers from their staff within 45 days, rather than the current eight-month process.

The contract would include a two percent raise for teachers for the first two years, as well as $600 to put toward their health insurance. It would also allow teachers willing to work longer school days and years to earn even more money.

The proposed contract fits nicely with the “Shift” reform plan laid out by Johnson last spring, school officials said.

“The Shift is on,” board chairman Richard Mammen told the Post. “The collaborative agreement we’ve seen is clearly aligned with the progressive principles the board established last May.

“The teachers and the superintendent have agreed to keep building a culture where everyone is respected and accountable for the achievement of all our students. They agreed that change is needed. I’m looking forward to understanding the details, the expected results and the conversations ahead.”

Nordgren, the union president, seemed proud to help craft a more student-centered contract than in the past, despite cries from the left fringe of her membership that she’s being too generous.

Teachers, however, must agree to the proposed three year contract, which would run from 2013 to 2015. They’ll vote on the proposal March 17 to 24, the Post reports.