Teacher layoffs continue Rhee's reforms
When Chancellor Kaya Henderson took the reins of D.C. Public Schools in November, critics wondered if she was tough enough to push the education reforms of the notoriously abrasive Michelle Rhee.
But 206 teacher layoffs -- and the style in which Henderson delivered the news -- reveal her as a committed successor to the Rhee reforms, observers say.
The school system laid off 413 employees on Friday, including 206 teachers who received poor ratings on Impact, a controversial teacher evaluation tool developed by Henderson when she served as Rhee's deputy chancellor, and introduced into the schools last year.
| Separations | ||||||||||||
| 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||
| WTU | Non-WTU | Total | WTU | Non-WTU | Total | |||||||
| Ineffective | 75 | 60 | 135 | 65 | 48 | 113 | ||||||
| 2x Minimally Effective | n/a | n/a | n/a | 141 | 34 | 175 | ||||||
| Unplaced after a year | n/a | n/a | n/a | 21 | n/a | 21 | ||||||
| Issues with license | 39 | 37 | 76 | 94 | 10 | 104 | ||||||
| Total | 114 | 97 | 211 | 321 | 92 | 413 | ||||||
Sixty-five teachers were pink slipped for "ineffective" ratings -- determined by students' test scores gains and classroom observations -- while another 141 teachers were jettisoned for a second-consecutive "minimally effective" rating.
Last year, 126 teachers were let go for "ineffective" ratings on the evaluation tool; those
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/education/2011/07/teacher-layoffs-continue-rhees-reforms#ixzz1SMz7s7KE