A new way to get rid of bad teachers

Many school districts go through contortions to ease ineffective teachers out of their classrooms. Union negotiations almost always play a key role in the effort.

Washington, D.C., chancellor Michelle Rhee has had enough of that.

The take-charge schools leader has decided to bypass negotiations to impose her own new plan to show bad teachers the door, the Washington Post reports. Teachers would be evaluated, and those deemed poor would have 90 days to improve or leave.

"The goal and responsibility and moral imperative of this administration is to make sure that each child gets an excellent education," Rhee told the Post.

Not surprisingly, the teachers union has denounced her proposal. "You cannot fire your way to a successful school district. It will not happen," union president George Parker told the paper.

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Comments

[Jen]

I don't know how teachers are hired in Washington D.C. However, in other states college grades and PRAXIS/ state teacher exam scores are what gets a teacher a job rather than teacher performance. Superintendents look at quantity (numbers)rather than quality (teacher performance).
I had to find work as a SEIT through an agency (rather than a public school) to prove how good of a teacher I am. In four short months I received a three dollar raise per hour because I had excellent proven results with my clients. Teaching is an art not a number!

[terminator]

While in agreement the Washington DC school district is a cesspool, Rhee hasn't accomplished one thing during her time as Superintendent.
The only way she can do this is because DC is under "mayoral control" like many other large cities in the US.
The Florida Constitution does not allow for mayoral control and the state is loathe to "takeover" failing schools or districts so that could never happen here shy of changing the state constitution or lawmakers passing legislation.
Incidentally, the same 90 day probationary timeframe is contained in current Florida law.
The good thing for Florida teachers is they enjoy due process and the burden is on the districts.
After a lengthy process which involves a DOAH hearing and recommendation, the employee still has the right to take their case to a court of law to get their job back (with full back pay of course).
The best time to get rid of under-performing teachers is during the first three years when all teachers are on "annual contract" and no due process is required.
The real power behind mayoral control in DC resides with Mayor Adrian Fenty.
Rhee was one of these idiot Teach For America people who spent a couple of years in the classroom and now somehow finds herself in way over her head as Superintendent of possibly the most corrupt school district in the country.
The best thing that could happen to the DC district would be something similar to what happened in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
With all the schools destroyed and residents parceled out to neighboring states there were no students therefore necessitating a virtual shutdown of the system which ended the corruption.
termie always says "you can't make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t"!

True, true.... wish we could make ever gov't/public employee "at will" rather than career service.

If it works, I would absolutely be open to pushing similar reforms here, but I don't believe that it will work even in the short term. For everyone that you fire, you need to be able to hire someone better. In Florida, this is not going to be easy to do. There aren't thousands of ready to work teachers waiting for others to be fired so they can step in. In addition, we have a CSR requirement in the Constitution that will be difficult to waive or ignore by the Legisalture more than they already have been doing. Eventually, the bill will come due.