How about Dr. Robin Cooper and the Commonwealth of School Administrators (CASA) Teamsters Local 502 pulled off something that has never been done before by a Philadelphia Union?
The weekend of March 28-30, 2025, they hosted a three-day Education Conference at the Hilton Hotel on City Avenue; attended by more than 700 conferees, the weekend was a major success. Not because I say so, but because one person after another, as they networked in the lobby area of the Hilton Hotel and in some of the workshop rooms, were all saying the same kinds of things. “This conference was so enlightening.” “I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference if we do it again.” “Dr. Robin said she’d keep us busy all weekend long, and she never lied.” The speakers were amazing. The workshops were great. The panelists were engaging. This conference was off the chain.”
That’s the kind of feedback and accolades that came from the lips of people who attended the first ever #CASA One Education Conference.
Dr. Robin Cooper, President of CASA, stated, “In planning our conference, it was our desire to be aligned with the motto that Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has for the city, “One Philadelphia”, so we decided to name our gathering, the CASA One Education Conference. Our conference theme was “One Vision, One Voice, One Village.” How we are moving forward in a post-pandemic era, was the underlying theme for the weekend.
Friday evening, everything was about the village. Our presentations were all upbeat and celebratory and offered some high energy. Mind you, the attendees at the conference were school teachers, principals, assistant principals, administrators from the school district, and other guests.
There was a mandatory reporting workshop. There was a Wellness workshop. There were several workshops on technology and more.
Dr. Tony Watlington, Superintendent of Philadelphia Public Schools, was on hand for the conference and a host of other notable education leaders were there as well.
Philadelphia has seen a significant increase in enrollment for the first time in ten years. It has been noted as the second most improved district in the nation. Other education leaders who participated at the conference as panelists or speakers were: Dr. Salome Thomas-El, award-winning teacher, principal, and author; Dr. Bill Daggett, Founder Successful Practices Network; Geoffrey Canada, President of Harlem Children’s Zone; Dr. Linda E. Grobman, Associate Professor of Practice Temple University, Retired Superintendent Radnor Township School District; Dr. Debora Carrera, Chief Education Officer, the city of Philadelphia; Dr. Eric J. Becoats, Superintendent of William Penn School District; Dr. Michelle Rozen, CEO at the Dr. Rozen Company for Leadership and Motivation Keynotes and Training; and Dr. Khalid Mumin, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Chief of Strategy Education Partnerships and Global Development MindUP, The Goldie Hawn Foundation and author.
All weekend long, Joyce Abbott, the Philadelphia public school teacher, who has an award-winning television sitcom based on her life as an educator in Philadelphia, “Abbott Elementary,” was on hand signing autographs and promoting her book.
Mayor Cherelle Parker was there for the kickoff of the conference, on March 28, 2025. Here’s a bit of what Mayor Parker said about Dr. Robin Cooper, the visionary leader of Teamsters Local 502. “Dr. Cooper and I have been formally working together long enough for me to know that some people might think I’m pretty weird. But my style in judging the character of a person doesn’t come from what I see them do in front of a microphone or in front of a camera. Someone said to me recently when I was out at a meeting, and said, “You don’t even realize that your character and your reputation, go into the room before you do. To every school administrator every principal, every teacher, and every educator stakeholder who is present here today, Dr. Robin Cooper’s character, I judge based on what she says in the room and at the table, and when it comes time to advocate and negotiate, for each and every one of you, she never forgets the assignment. The same person you see here today, it’s authentic. You can’t fake that. That is who she is, and I am so proud of her.”
As for the history of CASA, it took special PA Legislative action to create the legal basis for CASA to organize as a Union. The original Union Char- ter was from 1986, so we are going into our 40th year as Teamsters Local 502: CASA Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA), the only unionized School Administrators in PA. Currently, we have over 900 strong members in the School District. Formed in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), of which CASA is affiliated within the Public Services Division, is over 1.3 million members strong.
Dan McGinley was the first President and Principal Officer. Today, CASA is led by the historic trailblazer Dr. Robin P. Cooper. Dr. Cooper is the first female, first African-American, and first female African-American Person and Principal Officer of CASA. She has served as President since January 2017 and is also President of Philadelphia and Vicinity Teamsters National Black Caucus (TNBC), President of Eastern Region TNBC, and an Officer on the National Executive Board of the TNBC. Dr. Cooper has moved CASA to become a much more active, diverse, and inclusive labor organization fighting for equity and social justice, not only locally in Philadelphia but statewide and on the national level!
