Michelle Rhee Fires Underperforming Teachers
The Washington Post reports that DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has successfully fired 241 teachers for under-performance. The teachers' union will contest the decision:
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced Friday that she has fired 241 teachers, including 165 who received poor appraisals under a new evaluation system that for the first time holds some educators accountable for students' standardized test scores.
"Every child in a District of Columbia public school has a right to a highly effective teacher -- in every classroom, of every school, of every neighborhood, of every ward, in this City," Rhee said in a statement, announcing the first year of results from the revamped evaluation, known as IMPACT. "That is our commitment. Today . . . we take another step toward making that commitment a reality."
Dismissals for performance are exceedingly rare in D.C. schools -- and in school systems nationwide. Friday's firings mark the beginning of Rhee's bid to make student achievement a high-stakes proposition for teachers, establishing job loss as a possible consequence of poor classroom results.
The Washington Teachers' Union said Friday that it will contest the terminations.
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The firings also are likely to spark a new round of debate about Rhee's treatment of teachers. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, who is challenging Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, has not committed to retaining Rhee if elected and has made her hard-edged management style part of his critique of Fenty's education policy. Gray said Friday that he "wanted to look further at the basis for the dismissals" before drawing conclusions and added that there is "still controversy" regarding IMPACT.
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