Best post election analysis I've seen

[Anonymous]

This is a really good read.

http://electiondissection.blogspot.com/2010/09/rise-and-fall-of-adrian-fenty-can.html

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the link. I need to give this some thought, but it makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Interesting piece, I agree. Makes sense. In a sense, the establishment pushed back. DC politics stressed process so much that results did not matter really. Everybody wants to express their views, everybody wants their hands held. What people should understand is that the educational establishment in DC (which includes some bureaucrats, some teachers, the unions, and some parent groups) are directly responsible for the poor state of the DC schools. They must take the blame. In my view, the likelihood that that establishment can radically reform DC schools is simply non-existing. That establishment has already had many decades to improve the schools. Unfortunately, everyone in the system will be able to keep their jobs, all to the detriment of DC youth.

[Anonymous]

Here is another take. I wonder whether the rebellion against Fenty is similar to that against the President and the Democrats in Congress. Fenty lossed because he pushed for reform too hard too quickly and pissed off many people in the process. Obama/Congress did too much too quickly pissing off too many people (Bailouts, Health Care, Financial Reform). In both cases, the public saw too many changes, too soon, and felt uncomfortable partially (no doubt) due to current economic uncertainties.

[Anonymous]

I think there are definitely lessons Obama can take from this for sure. What I hate is the simplistic view that those who voted for Gray don't want change. I voted for him and certainly do want the city to keep improving. But what I want at the same time is real change that is sustainable - it's not sustainable if more than half the electorate don't understand or support your vision.

[Anonymous]

When Grey is being supported by much of the educational establishment in DC, the idea that Grey will now turn against that establishment and force it to undergo radical change is highly unlikely.

[Anonymous]

The truth is that Rhee had one trick in her book and that one trick has already been played. You cannot fire your way to excellence. At some point you have to start investing in your workforce: training, mentoring, and supporting it. You have to invest in a curriculum instead of thinking you can drill, kill, and test your way to a superior education. Rhee has done all she can for DCPS. It needs a new vision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When Grey is being supported by much of the educational establishment in DC, the idea that Grey will now turn against that establishment and force it to undergo radical change is highly unlikely.

Why? Fenty said in his first campaign that he would always be accessible to the voters. He turned on them. Besides, to Fenty's credit, the big step of the new teacher's contract is signed and it's not changing. The teachers have gone from a tenure-based pay system to one based on performance, and there is no going back even under a new administration.

[Anonymous]

15:36 is nothing more than crap. DC clearly has many great teachers. DC also clearly has many lousy teachers, none of whom seem to get fired ever until Rhee. Firing teachers, however, is obviously not the only means to reform (and Rhee has said so), but it is a required and a key ingredient. DCPS has been spending substantial sums of money for decades; and DCPS teachers are well paid. So, what has all that money done over the last few decades. One should assume that some of that money went to the workforce, whether in the form of training, mentoring or curriculm. The end result has been a lousy school system. Who gets hurt here? DC Youth. Not the bureaucrats or teachers, of course. My final comment is that, after decades of voting Democratic (with no more than 2-3 Republican votes in there), I now understand the Republican criticism of unions.

[Anonymous]

Before Rhee came around the Chancellor did not have the power to fire teachers - that was the whole problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:36 is nothing more than crap. DC clearly has many great teachers. DC also clearly has many lousy teachers, none of whom seem to get fired ever until Rhee. Firing teachers, however, is obviously not the only means to reform (and Rhee has said so), but it is a required and a key ingredient. DCPS has been spending substantial sums of money for decades; and DCPS teachers are well paid. So, what has all that money done over the last few decades. One should assume that some of that money went to the workforce, whether in the form of training, mentoring or curriculm. The end result has been a lousy school system. Who gets hurt here? DC Youth. Not the bureaucrats or teachers, of course. My final comment is that, after decades of voting Democratic (with no more than 2-3 Republican votes in there), I now understand the Republican criticism of unions.

If that's crap then you're saying that you CAN fire your way to excellence. Apparently you don't know that TFA teachers don't have a good track record, and don't stick around.

[Anonymous]

2140 is exactly why DCPS will never be reformed. First, it is not TFA versus DCPS teachers. Second, no one is saying that firing teachers is the only solution. The impression left by 2140, however, is that no teachers should be fired. Given the lousy state of DCPS, 2140 must be saying that there are no bad teachers within DCPS and that teachers bear none of the blame for the current state of DCPS. That position is untenable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2140 is exactly why DCPS will never be reformed. First, it is not TFA versus DCPS teachers. Second, no one is saying that firing teachers is the only solution. The impression left by 2140, however, is that no teachers should be fired. Given the lousy state of DCPS, 2140 must be saying that there are no bad teachers within DCPS and that teachers bear none of the blame for the current state of DCPS. That position is untenable.

No, go back and re-read what I wrote.

Who are these people out there saying that bad teachers shouldn't be fired? I've never met a single one of them, and yet there seems to be an inordinate amount of fear that they generate... The point is that you cannot fire your way to excellence. A lot of teachers have been fired. A lot of good ones have been hired or retained. At what point are you ready to consider them allies? When are we going to start treating them with respect and investing in their development and moving on to the next stage of the program? When do we address other weaknesses, such as curriculum or class size?

The only solution I see anyone bandying about is to continue firing teachers until DC-CAS scores go up. "The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2140 is exactly why DCPS will never be reformed. First, it is not TFA versus DCPS teachers. Second, no one is saying that firing teachers is the only solution. The impression left by 2140, however, is that no teachers should be fired. Given the lousy state of DCPS, 2140 must be saying that there are no bad teachers within DCPS and that teachers bear none of the blame for the current state of DCPS. That position is untenable.

No, go back and re-read what I wrote.

Who are these people out there saying that bad teachers shouldn't be fired? I've never met a single one of them, and yet there seems to be an inordinate amount of fear that they generate... The point is that you cannot fire your way to excellence. A lot of teachers have been fired. A lot of good ones have been hired or retained. At what point are you ready to consider them allies? When are we going to start treating them with respect and investing in their development and moving on to the next stage of the program? When do we address other weaknesses, such as curriculum or class size?

The only solution I see anyone bandying about is to continue firing teachers until DC-CAS scores go up. "The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

Do you (or anyone else) know the past firing numbers so that we could compare to corporate hiring/firing practices? It's hard to work with the statement above.

[Anonymous]

Rhee fired about 250 teachers out of approximately 4000 in the DCPS. About 700-800 additional teachers were given warnings. Rhee also fired some other personnel. Since DCPS has been so lousy for so long, the idea that DCPS has a fair number of borderline teachers should not be a surprise. The foregoing, of course, does NOT mean that DCPS lacks good teachers. It simply needs more of them. A PP raised the need for curriculm reform. Why hasn't that happened before? Teachers are not the enemy, of course. But teachers who resist reform, accountability and change are counter-productive.