DC Public Schools Fire 241

The District of Columbia Public Schools, headed by Michelle Rhee, recently fired 241 teachers under its new teacher evaluation system known as "IMPACT" which is noteworthy in that, for the first time, teachers' job status is tied to students' test results. According to the Washington Post, 165 teachers were fired for poor evaluations under a new teacher evaluation program called "IMPACT." The remaining 89 teachers appear to have been fired over licensing issues. The Post notes that those fired for poor performance represent about 4% of the DC Public School system's 4,000 teachers. Rhee also announced that an additional 737 teachers were rated as "minimally effective" under the new IMPACT teacher evaluation system, and that they had one year to improve or be fired. Thus, according to Rhee, about 22.5% of teachers in the DC system was minimally effective or worse.

On his blog, "Inside DC Schools," Washington Post education reporter Bill Turque highlights some of the misgivings many people have with the firings and the new IMPACT system. He quoted one teacher who responded to a survey conducted by the teacher's union, "I think the only thing the IMPACT system has provided DCPS teachers with is an atmosphere of fear and rejection."

Turque quoted another teacher:

IMPACT is an out-of-touch and convoluted corporate construction which has no validity in the gritty reality of teaching in DC public schools," wrote another. "It seems designed by political aspirant edwonk self-aggrandizers who have little or no real teaching experience or any respect for the heroic job DCPS teachers do every day.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2010/07/impacts_impact_fear_and_reject.html?sid=ST2010072303662

Of course, these are only two voices amid many on both sides. From what I've learned so far, I have major qualms with IMPACT. In my next series of posts I'll attempt to explore them in a fair and helpful manner.