Velma Murphy Hill

Velma Murphy Hill, a former vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is also the former civil and human rights director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Norman and Velma Hill's memoir, “Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain” (Regalo Press) is coming out in the fall.

Authored Blog Posts

Title	Authored on
The Birth of Coalition Politics	Aug 25, 2023
In Recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday	Jan 16, 2023
Amazon Workers: The Struggle For Human Rights And Workplace Dignity	Mar 24, 2021
Applying Pressure Politics When It Counts The Most	Dec 08, 2020
A Tribute To Nat LaCour	Oct 27, 2020

Recent Blog Posts

Publications

The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems (Sixth Edition)
A national evaluation of the K-12 school finance systems of all 50 states and D.C., published by researchers from the Albert Shanker Institute, University of Miami, and Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
Reading Reform Across America: A Survey of State Legislation
This report authored by Susan B. Neuman (New York University), Esther Quintero (Albert Shanker Institute), and Kayla Reist (University of Virginia), examines reading-related state legislation enacted between 2019 and 2022.
The Source Code: Revenue Composition and the Adequacy, Equity, and Stability of K-12 School Spending
A national analysis of the relationship between K-12 revenue composition—that is, the percentage of funding that comes from state versus local sources—and the adequacy, equity, and stability of school spending.

Blog Archives

Our Mission

The Albert Shanker Institute, endowed by the American Federation of Teachers and named in honor of its late president, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to three themes - excellence in public education, unions as advocates for quality, and freedom of association in the public life of democracies. With an independent Board of Directors (composed of educators, business representatives, labor leaders, academics, and public policy analysts), its mission is to generate ideas, foster candid exchanges, and promote constructive policy proposals related to these issues.

This blog offers informal commentary on the research, news, and controversies related to the work of the Institute.