D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced yesterday that she plans to fire 250 teachers and 500 teacher's aides who were unable to meet a June 30 deadline to obtain certification...
By firing the 750 educators, she said, the school system now is in compliance with the law (NCLB). Rhee's spokeswoman said the firings are not expected to disrupt the upcoming school year because none of the educators were assigned to classrooms since they were not expected to make the deadline.
I skipped a lot of information there--such as the fact that these people were first told they'd be fired in 2005, but the "drop dead date" got extended. Chancellor Rhee even gave them one more year after she got hired, but they didn't get certified--and now they're out the door.
As dysfunctional as that district is, I'm surprised that Michelle Rhee hasn't been ousted.
ReplyDeleteIf I understood her correctly, she reports directly to the mayor--and he supports her almost unconditionally.
ReplyDeleteAdmirable as her performance may be I don't see that it's going to ignite a firestorm of forcefully education-centered superintendent activism nationwide. I think, like the excellent school district next to the lousy school district, Rhee's performance will be pointedly ignored to the extent possible and excuses made when the subject's brought up.
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