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New Web Site Will Help Track Progress On Interest-Based Bargaining Of New Teachers' Contract

Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association are launching discussions on a new contract.

This year, the process is distinctly different.

The first session of this year's rounds of talks begins Wednesday, February 20. Both the DCTA and the school district have committed to fashioning the new contract through interest-based bargaining.

A new web site – linked from the Denver Public Schools web page – will help interested teachers, parents and other community members keep track of bargaining progress. The direct link to the web site is dps-dcta.dpsk12.org.

The interest-based approach contrasts sharply with traditional "contract talks," in which two sides exchange proposals and arrive at a compromise on words and numbers.

Interest-based bargaining is a negotiation strategy that focuses on satisfying as many interests or needs as possible for all negotiators. The interest-based approach uses a problem-solving process to reach an integrative solution rather than distributing rewards in a win-lose manner. It is not a process of compromise.

Both the DCTA and DPS are entering talks with the notion that both groups have something very much in common – improving student achievement.

The web site is designed to keep all interested teachers, district staff, and others throughout the broader DPS community up to date on the progress of bargaining.

The process began in late November when Boulder-based CDR Associates started working with representatives from both DPS and DCTA to prepare for the new way of thinking about the shape, scope and substance of the relationship.

CDR Associates is a non-profit organization with 23 years experience in providing conflict resolution services, decision-making assistance, dispute resolution systems design, and training.