Blue Jersey:: The Failure of "Reform": Tenure

Blue Jersey:: The Failure of "Reform": Tenure:

The Failure of "Reform": Tenure by: Jersey Jazzman Wed Oct 26, 2011 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

The central issue in the upcoming education "reform" debate will certainly be tenure. Under the Christie proposal, if a teacher gets one "ineffective" rating, she loses her tenure rights, and can't appeal the loss to anyone outside of her district. She can then be terminated immediately without cause. 50% of that "ineffective" rating is based solely on the teacher's evaluation by the principal or other supervisor - more than enough to cause even a stellar teacher to earn a poor rating if she rubs her supervisor the wrong way. In effect, administrators would have new, unprecedented abilities to remove a teacher at will. This is a recipe for disaster. Even more than teacher protection, tenure is taxpayer protection. It creates a firewall that helps to contain cronyism. The reports from the Star-Ledger about the rampant corruption and nepotism alleged in the Elizabeth school