by Scott Waldman

Richard Iannuzzi
President of the New York State United Teachers

Personal: Iannuzzi has three grown children and four grandchildren and splits his time between Albany and Long Island.

How he got there: NYSUT has 600,000 members in education and health care. Iannuzzi taught for 34 years in Central Islip on Long Island, a low wealth district. Iannuzzi, 62, was a cab driver when he put himself through graduate school. He marched in his first union strike just a few months after he started teaching.

This is the first school year we’re going to have a new president in place. What are some of the primary issues you’re going to handle in the coming year?

Washington is becoming the center of attention for education instead of Albany. I have been to Washington on each of the last three weeks. I’ll be back the week after next. Given the budgetary situations in states and the difficulty in funding and given the willingness of this administration in Washington to put dollars in front of what they believe are good ideas, that’s a major shift in how we do business. For eight years, we’ve heard, ‘let’s punish the low performing schools’ now we’re hearing ‘let’s turn them around.’ This is an acknowledgement there’s an achievement gap that has to be addressed.

Since you started as an educator, there have been many approaches to solving the problem of poor children not getting the same quality education as richer counterparts. Are we in a different place now with reaching those kids?

What’s different is not imposing a new program or way of doing business on top of what you’re doing, but really looking at some of the fundamental issues such as teacher effectiveness. If we concentrate on making teachers as effective as possible, then it won’t much matter what program you bring in.

Was there a moment in your own teaching when you said to yourself ‘this is a problem that may never be solved?”

The hardest thing as teacher in a difficult district is when you see yourself making progress with a struggling youngster and ultimately factors totally outside that child’s control take over, whether it’s parents who have to relocate or gang violence involving a sibling. Your role as a teacher changes, it becomes one of emotional support.

What does NYSUT tell those teachers who are going to leave the profession, because it just seems hopeless in some hard-hit communities?

We try to prevent the hopeless feeling from taking over by preparing them early. I think the idea is to prepare them for the larger mission and if they’re looking at content and emotional support than they’re prepared for that.

What comes it charter schools, you have said they’re a drain on the public system. What are we going to see from NYSUT now that the Obama administration is pushing charters?

I’ll be the first to admit I was one of the staunchest opponents (of charters) and waged a real battle in my own school district in Central Islip. The world has changed since then. Charter schools are established. The ingredients that are missing right now and that will allow us to move forward are accountability, full transparency and a funding system that doesn’t decimate either the regular public school or the charter school.

What do you do on your weekends and how do you unwind?

Four grandchildren fill all of the extra moments. Four little boys. (He reads them “Goodnight Moon.”) So many of the things I do here are with a lot of people, so unwinding for me is not being with a lot of people so whether it’s biking or kayaking., things that allow me to do things solo is probably the best.

What’s similar or different between being a grandfather and being NYSUT president?

Being a grandparent lets you look at children growing in a way that helps me reflect here on the kids that have nowhere near the opportunity of my grandkids. If any of my grandchildren sniffled, they would have a visit with their pediatrician before the day is out. My experience in the classroom is that the child would come to school day after day, getting sicker and sicker until finally, in the middle of the night, their visit is to the emergency room and we don’t see them in school again for a week. My being able to go back to those experiences help a lot here.