We're firing our best teachers
Kristen Briggs was one of about a thousand educators who lost their jobs teaching in Philadelphia schools this year. But to her students, she was much more than a statistic.
Briggs, who taught special education at Lincoln High School, is the kind of teacher any principal would hasten to hire - and never willingly let go. But Briggs' principal didn't have a choice in the matter.
She was laid off under an antiquated and harmful policy known as "last in, first out," or "LIFO" for short. It requires that when layoffs occur, the last teachers hired are the first fired - regardless of their effectiveness as teachers.
This is the policy under which all those Philadelphia teachers were removed from their jobs when the district had to cut costs this summer. Pennsylvania requires a LIFO approach whenever budget shortfalls lead to layoffs.
Layoffs are always upsetting, but going about them without considering teachers' performance makes them much worse - especially for children. Nothing in our schools is as critical to students' learning as the work of teachers.
Common sense suggests that LIFO ought to be scrapped, and research confirms it. An Urban
