Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) issued the following statement on the recent contract agreement by the local teacher’s union in New Haven, Connecticut.

“I am very heartened by the recent contract agreement agreed to by the local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers and the City of New Haven, and I applaud Mayor John DeStefano, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Dr. Reginald Mayo, New Haven Public School Superintendent; David Cicarella, President of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, and everyone who helped to make this important agreement a reality. I also thank Dr. Martha Kanter, Undersecretary of Education, and Charles Rose, General Counsel, both with the U.S. Department of Education, for coming to New Haven for today’s event.

Our city has led the way in demonstrating to the entire nation that strong teachers’ unions, strong schools, and strong education reforms are all of a piece. This contract agreement demonstrates a forward-thinking flexibility by all parties, a reaffirmation of the central importance of teachers’ unions to our education system, and a positive and demonstrable commitment to real school reform by everyone involved.

With this contract, both the City’s schools and New Haven’s teachers have made it clear their top priority is, as always, the future of New Haven’s children. Research has shown consistently that, whatever other factors are in play, great teachers make for great students. The reforms included here will help ensure that every student in New Haven has that one special teacher – and maybe more! – that will change his or her life.

In the meantime, I will continue to work in Washington to ensure that federal policies invest in teachers, put our children's academic achievement first and recognize the critical role of unions in contract negotiation and education reform.