Rhee laid off teachers who were sleeping with students or hitting them, so she says.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:The more I think about this, the angrier I get. If Rhee is to be believed (which I don't think she is), there are pedophile teachers out looking for jobs who can accurately say that they are out of work due to budget cuts. They can easily be hired by another school district. Rhee is either a liar or incompetent (though being one does not necessarily rule out the other).

I know -- this is what is so disturbing about this statement. If she didn't really mean it this way, she was just running off at the mouth and making irresponsible statements. Not what one looks for in the leader of a large school system! I am so tired of the national media falling for her bullshit without attempting to confirm whether or not she actually is a competent leader.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher let go by her and OSSE in the last wave. The fawning news articles applauded all the under qualified teachers let go. I have an ma and present at national conferences-I didn't fight or sue as I couldn't be bothered; I have a life. Most teachers do. Does she???? Why do people swallow her BS? Who doesn't want change and improvement? Has she helped schools that are down and out? Has she helped top schools take flight? The proof is in the pudding - slight dc-cas increase with a taint of possible cheating.

[Anonymous]

I just sent this to my council member.

I respectfully request that the full council hold a public hearing and ask Chancellor Rhee to explain this statement. (See below.)

If Chancellor Rhee did indeed make this statement, the public needs to know at a minimum the following:
How many teachers were allegedly having or had sex with students and how long did DCPS know about these allegations?
Were students' parents and/or guardians notified? If not, why not?
Were law enforcement officials notified? If so, what was the outcome? If not, why not?

In addition, I am curious to know whether DCPS currently has in place guidelines for teachers, such as a recommendation that teachers NOT socialize alone with students outside of school as well as teachers NOT invite students to come alone to their homes? I believe many if not most incidents of teacher sexual impropriety involve the student socializing alone outside of school with the teacher and/or inviting the student to come over alone to the teacher's home.

Thank you in advance for your attention.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/142/update-dc-report-card.html

[Anonymous]

When the School District is now sued, and it will be sued, it will bankrupt up. Rhee must respond to this now, as there is a chance that the publication simply made this story up. However, if that is not the case that leaves us with one of two scenarios. Either Rhee is lying or she deliberately has endangered our children. Either of those two cases, she should be fired by Mayor Fenty by Monday.

What is the Mayor waiting for. The Federalization one again of our schools. This is incompetent leadership at all levels.

The School Chancellor is either lying or putting our children DELIBERATELY at risk.

[Anonymous]

I have long defended Rhee and asserted that we need to give her some time before casting judgment on her management of the schools.

But this seems...inexplicable. I can't imagine what reasonable explanation there is for this comment. As others have said, either these predatory teachers are free to take jobs at other schools because no formal accusations were filed, or she is slandering a bunch of innocent people. Or both.

As someone who was really counting on her to make a positive impact on DCPS (and I think in many ways she has), I'm quite depressed.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Teachers with those types of issues are either arrested or fired. They are not laid off due to budget cuts. Rhee's bullshit is really getting over the top. Her history of lies puts her in Sarah Palin's class.

Exactly (even the Sarah Palin point).

[Anonymous]

My thoughts...if what she said was true, it is horrible (as others have pointed out, b/c these individuals should have been reported to the police). If what she said was NOT true, it is horrible (hello...slander? Lying?).

Either way, I can't help but think WTF was she thinking when she said that. I don't know much about Rhee (I live in VA), but my god...unless it turns out somehow that the statement is wrong - and I also think a reporter probable got in on tape - then she REALLY needs to go.

[Anonymous]

I really hope that the Mayor has Mrs. Rhee in his office right now clarifying this statement with a public explanation at some point today.

There is a chance that the publication is fabricating this story. If that is the case, well then, she needs to get back to work. If the story is accurate, Chancellor Rhee should join the ranks of the unemployed by Monday. There is no excuse for flagrant lies or the public endangerment of children.

Either way this story should be resolved by a responsible mayor by the school days start on Monday.

[Anonymous]

If the Fast Company report is inaccurate, I think we would have heard back from someone by now. I bet it was taped.

[Anonymous]

Any idea which schools the reported child molesters were teaching in at the time of their terminations. If the allegations are true, I want some reassurances, if that is poosible, that they were not in the school my DC attended. TIA

[Anonymous]

i don't think Fenty will fire her. i think they made a pact and he is sticking to it. he won't off her even under extreme political pressure.

[Anonymous]

ITA with 1929. But he has thrown staff under the bus before. So what or who is the Rhee plan B? Let's assume she says or does something really ridiculous (again) and moves to Cali claiming she was a sacrificial lamb. Education improvement has to keep going in DC. Any ideas?

I wouldn't mind someone who shares her views on reform, so long as they act like an adult. (My 5 year old is more diplomatic than Rhee.)

In my dream world she says "I've become a distraction to reform so I'll turns things over to (so and so) who won't piss off adults while getting the right things done for kids and I will make the change as smooth as possible."

As to pp who asked about specific schools, pretty much every school let at least one person go (which DCPS had on website to show they hadn't targeted certain teachers). It was supposedly the Principal's call and they had to do a 20 page form justifying who they kept. Other than hearsay, it may be impossible to know where the worst were and which teachers were unfairly fired.

Ugh.

[Anonymous]

ITA with 1929. But he has thrown staff under the bus before. So what or who is the Rhee plan B? Let's assume she says or does something really ridiculous (again) and moves to Cali claiming she was a sacrificial lamb. Education improvement has to keep going in DC. Any ideas?

I wouldn't mind someone who shares her views on reform, so long as they act like an adult. (My 5 year old is more diplomatic than Rhee.)

In my dream world she says "I've become a distraction to reform so I'll turns things over to (so and so) who won't piss off adults while getting the right things done for kids and I will make the change as smooth as possible."

As to pp who asked about specific schools, pretty much every school let at least one person go (which DCPS had on website to show they hadn't targeted certain teachers). It was supposedly the Principal's call and they had to do a 20 page form justifying who they kept. Other than hearsay, it may be impossible to know where the worst were and which teachers were unfairly fired.

Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Great. So I guess this story is dead. How many school districts across the country could have their Chancellor/Superintendant claim that she had RIF'd teachers six months earlier using a budgetary procedure because they had in fact had sexual relationships with students, without any sort of explanation? Ladies and gentlemen, our District is a sham of a city and our "Taxation Without Representation" quip is to be frank laughable. Our Mayor and our Chancellor are quite simply dangerous and their arrogance in the fact that they do not believe that they are accountable to their constituents disgusting. I find myself between a rock and a hard place. Either hope that the Chancellor is a liar and made the story up or hope that she is telling the truth but is grossly negligent and incompetent and hustled our problems off to other school districts where they can prey on "other peoples" kids.

Who do you want running your school district, a liar or a fool?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Great. So I guess this story is dead.

According to WTOP, Vincent Gray is expecting an explanation from Rhee today:

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=596&sid=1871149

A new round of media stories will probably result from his getting or not getting this explanation.