A change for the better in DC schools

[primroselane]

Michelle Rhee, the reform-minded chancellor who took over the District of Columbia public schools three years ago, on Friday fired 241 teachers, or 5 percent of the district’s total.

An additional 737 employees were put on notice that they had been rated “minimally effective,” the second-lowest category, and would have one year to improve their performance or be fired.

In the years before Ms. Rhee took over the district, almost all the teachers had high performance ratings and almost none were fired, but students, on average, had low achievement levels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/ed....html?_r=1&hpw

[Tricky Grama]

Wow. Wonder if the MSM will publicise the results in a yr or so.

[Beeman]

"Friday’s dismissals were not the chancellor’s first. In the 2007-8 school year, a district spokesman said, 79 teachers were fired for poor performance, and in 2008-9, 96 were. Also, after hiring more than 500 new teachers in the spring and summer of 2009, Ms. Rhee laid off 266 educators in the fall, citing budget problems. The union has filed suit challenging those dismissals."

Sounds like a fun place to work!

How has the system done so far in the 3 years she's been there?

[Callieslamb]

I was listening to the radio Sat morning - some lady talk show host with a very loud voice - she was talking about DC schools and how before...teachers weren't afraid for their jobs but now there's a lot of fear in the schools. Maybe a little fear isn't always a bad thing.

[Ken Scharabok]

I'm surprised the NEA is letting her fire.

Rather like the federal government rating system of Superior/Excellent/Fully Successful/Minimally Qualified/Not Qualified. Fully successful is suspose the be the typical work, so, in theory, about 80% ought to fall in that category, say 10% above and 10% below. Something like 99.9% were FS or higher. In the 20 some years I worked for the federal government (well, was employed by anyway) I only knew of one case of notice of termination due to Not Qualified. It was basically to force him to retire. Guy simply refused to learn the new computer usage - wanted to keep his desk caculator instead.