There are no good schools without good principals, as Education Secretary Arne Duncan has noted. No one understands that better than Jill Levy of the American Federation of School Administrators, and no one is more committed to public school principals and vice-principals, supervisors and other administrators.
The granddaughter of immigrants and the daughter of parents who struggled against overwhelming poverty, Levy is a product of the New York City public schools where she eventually built her career. As a young teacher, she eagerly distributed literature for her American Federation of Teachers local throughout her school building. Later she served as a special education supervisor and mentor, helping create the school system's support program that offers mentoring to supervisors who ask for professional help.
Along with her commitment to a high-quality education for the students whose lives she has touched, Levy has been deeply committed to advancing the economic interests of and professional respect for the women and men in the American Federation of School Administrators. Indeed, her AFSA sisters and brothers have entrusted her with their livelihoods and future. They elected her to be president of AFSA's largest local, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators in New York City and, in 2006, the union's national president.
Under Levy's leadership, the role of AFSA in the entire union movement has been indispensable. In last year's Labor 2008 campaign, for example, AFSA activists phonebanked in New York City, mailed hundreds of postcards to working women in Pennsylvania, held a candidate forum in San Francisco, volunteered for Saturday walks in Connecticut, got out the vote on election day in Virginia and more. And AFSA has been exceptionally effective in spreading the message to its members about the Employee Free Choice Act—how it would help the economy and thus strengthen our schools. Levy herself has written eloquently about the legislation and is one of its strongest supporters.
A consistent thread running through Levy's career in AFSA is her strong solidarity with all the members of the union family. The AFL-CIO Executive Council has benefited tremendously from her wide-ranging contributions as a member. She serves with great distinction as a member of the Council's committees on Legislation and Public Policy, Immigration and the Health Care Reform Campaign.
Levy has retired as international president of AFSA and is now retiring as a Council member.
On behalf of the working women and men of the AFL-CIO throughout the country, we join together to thank Jill Levy for everything she has achieved for the School Administrators and the AFL-CIO, and we give her our warmest wishes for many happy years with her husband Joe and her entire family.