Another principal at a high-performing DCPS school is out

[Anonymous]

Rhee just fired Stoddert's highly-regarded principal: http://thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com/

In general, this blog has good coverage of this year's purge.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Stoddert has never been a great school, but it has been adequate. Considering its SES profile, I'd expect it to have higher test scores than it does.

I know a bunch of parents there, and I've never heard more than lukewarm comments about the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

In general, this blog has good coverage of this year's purge.

I have no opinion on the SToddert issue, but I am thoroughly unimpressed with this blogger's writing skills and general candlepower.

[Anonymous]

i am really starting to wonder what is going on with rhee and with dcps. i am all for giving people adequate time to prove themselves. and i believe dramatic action can be necessary, particularly with big, hard-to-manage institutions....but what is the big picture here? i'm just not seeing it. my child is going to enter DCPS in the fall and i am actually a little nervous about it. most people in education realize that fear is not a big motivator. but that seems to be what rhee is banking on. i don't want to send dd to a school with a demoralized staff that is always worried about the losing their jobs. that is just not a productive, happy environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In general, this blog has good coverage of this year's purge.

I have no opinion on the SToddert issue, but I am thoroughly unimpressed with this blogger's writing skills and general candlepower.

The blogger also overstated the parents' rating of the school on greatschools.net.

Personally, I have heard mixed things from Stoddert parents, including some strong critiques of the principal.

[Anonymous]

I don't think Candy Peterson is a particularly gifted writer, but she is covering news that the Washington Post is not.

My understanding is that Stoddert is a good school. For DCPS, it's a great school when you get right down to it. I don't know much about the principal, but if she crossed Rhee or if a few influential parents complained, she was out of luck. The questions is, who do you replace her with? It's $100K a year job, minimum of 60 hours a week and you can be fired at a drop of a hat. It's hard to imagine an experienced administrator wanting to take on a DCPS principalship.

Rhee has created a climate of fear. While that might work on your less than motivated employees (and I emphasize might here) it looks to be demoralizing on the staff that are dedicated and hard-working at my child's school.

The main office is as inefficient and difficult to deal with as ever, which makes it nearly impossible for teachers and principals to get the goods and services they need.

I'd like to see Rhee get her office in order. It's been nearly 2 years now.

[Anonymous]

Yes--I am a 'fired DCPS teacher'. I was fired over certification--despite the fact that I fulfilled the required Praxis exams, held high performance ratings, valid teaching license from VA., and a two-year MA. in teaching. However, my (Ivy League) federally funded MA was not on DC's 'approved schools list' -- and I was ordered to repeat all my studies at UDC, pronto. After three years of pushing this rock up a hill with DCPS, I was fired by decree mid-summer in one of Rhee's popular teacher purges--while simultaneously receiving a fantastic job offer elsewhere. Hmmm...you tell me.
As far as I can ascertain from these highly publicized teacher purges, the criteria is misrepresented to the public and at times insensate, the process is Kafka-esque, and there is no internal review board to examine personnel on any merit-driven case by case basis. I have also seen these principal purges firsthand, and the enthusiastic, but sometimes under-prepared folks she brings in to replace those she lets go. As a DC resident with kids, I still have a stake in great education for all. You might consider supporting the charter movement as our family does. At the very least, the presence of this responsive alternative causes the Mayor and Rhee to strive to court DCPS clients (parents and students) rather than take them for granted. Imagine if she felt free to treat you the way she treats teachers and admin.?!
Join the push for a quality education for all our children--independent, charter and public!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i am really starting to wonder what is going on with rhee and with dcps. i am all for giving people adequate time to prove themselves. and i believe dramatic action can be necessary, particularly with big, hard-to-manage institutions....but what is the big picture here? i'm just not seeing it. my child is going to enter DCPS in the fall and i am actually a little nervous about it. most people in education realize that fear is not a big motivator. but that seems to be what rhee is banking on. i don't want to send dd to a school with a demoralized staff that is always worried about the losing their jobs. that is just not a productive, happy environment.

Which school are you doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. Stoddert has never been a great school, but it has been adequate. Considering its SES profile, I'd expect it to have higher test scores than it does.

I know a bunch of parents there, and I've never heard more than lukewarm comments about the school.

My guess is that this poster actually knows very little about the schools demographics (small (<300 students) as well as racially and economically diverse, despite its Ward 3 location). Yeah, Stoddert's test scores don't rival those of Mann/Lafayette/Janney but it's not just educating the upper middle class children of highly educated parents. The Stoddert parents I've talked to have been really enthusiastic about the school and very effective at advocacy. They've got amazing facilities coming on line and they managed to survive closures that killed many schools of their size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Rhee has created a climate of fear. While that might work on your less than motivated employees (and I emphasize might here) it looks to be demoralizing on the staff that are dedicated and hard-working at my child's school.

I know someone who is reluctant to make a long-term commitment to DCPS for fear of being put in a difficult situation without genuine support and then being punished for it. Rhee keeps talking about how much she cares about students but professionals (who also care about students) need to know that she will support them. I fear that talented and able people will go elsewhere out of fear for their careers.

[Anonymous]

Yes. DCPS under Rhee management does not have 'long-term' career stamped on it. That is why she is turning to her insta-teacher and insta-administrator programs to supply people on the 3 year tenure track. They can say they did their time in the urbs and then go on to their 'real' career goals. Sad. Institutional knowledge is so valuable and rather than supportively critique and cultivate those who can provide it, Rhee rides roughshod towards her instant fixes.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, My friends at Stoddert are very happy with the teachers but have not thought much of the principal. maybe Rhee knows what she is doing? Maybe not, but it is a distinct possibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, My friends at Stoddert are very happy with the teachers but have not thought much of the principal.

So what were the complaints/issues?