229 Teachers RIFed, see DC Wire for full story

[Anonymous]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2009/10/dc_teach_layoffs_press_release.html

School Level Budget Adjustments
The vast majority of schools were not heavily impacted, 60 percent of schools will lose one or zero teachers and 80 percent of schools will lose two or less. District-wide 388 employees will be separated, 229 of which are teachers.

[Anonymous]

There's a companion piece here. While I understand this is supposed to ultimately benefit DC students and DCPS, it's hard not to feel sorry for these folks.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2009/10/what_dc_teachers_dont_want_to.html

[Anonymous]

I am so glad I stopped working for DCPS before this mess; I am so glad I stopped working for DCPS before this mess; I am so glad I stopped working for DCPS before this mess.

[Anonymous]

WTU very weak union.

[Anonymous]

Some teachers are very weak teachers. Years of experience may not be a good thing when they are years of mediocrity.

[Anonymous]

Well, I'm generally down with bashing the union but I don't feel like doing that here. Even if they are weak teachers, and even if the system will be better off, I still wouldn't wish a job loss in this manner on anyone. It seems pretty cold-blooded.

[Anonymous]

The criteria for who was fired has not been made public. The Post makes me fighting mad with its constant appraisal that all dismissed teachers must be weak (by virtue of what assessment???). These professionals have just lost their positions; they are simultaneously being besmirched as 'poor teachers' (imagine trying to find another job with that hanging over you???). How about Rhee release the dismissal criteria before we hastily jump to judgment? She has made it be known this is a case of downsizing; that is not synonymous with poor performance. How many people do you know who have been downsized for nothing to do with performance? To make it worse, she knew well in advance she would need to equalize the budget and hired hordes of new hires over the summer anyway.

[Anonymous]

I am the husband of a talented and passionate young teaching fellow who was riffed today after more than two years of dedicated service to her students.

Her urgent dedication to helping raise the achievement of high need and disadvantaged students has been a theme of her career. In rural Nepal, aged just 18, she creatively led a class of primary students through an uninspiring national curriculum (often protecting them from the headmaster's cane). In east London, she worked patiently to improve the employment prospects and English language skills of impoverished Bangladeshi immigrants. In Sudan, she developed a practical curriculum to improve the spoken language skills and cultural awareness of thousands of primary school children and hundreds of university students. On arriving in the district, she worked to train teachers for placements overseas before being accepted into the DC Fellows program, where, for the last couple of years she has worked tirelessly to raise the achievement levels of DC's young men and women.

I am so angry about the turn of events that led to her dismissal and so totally exhausted by the lack of support and appreciation by the successive administrations of her school that my faith in the DC school system and its leadership is all but gone. I question both the competence and strategy of its leadership at both a district and school level, but most of all I cannot understand the turn of events that led to her being evaluated as teacher that should be dismissed under any circumstances.

I am in the fortunate position to have witnessed her inspirational teaching and her tireless dedication to her students. I include myself amongst the many teachers she has trained, and was impressed and inspired when I taught alongside her in Sudan. She was observed for no more the five minutes by her current administration.

The DC public school system is truly in a sorry, sorry state. Today, in my humble opinion, DC students lost one of their most caring and committed advocates. They cannot afford to loose many more.

[Anonymous]

I hear you. Tell her her resume will speak for itself. I was riffed a few years ago for ridiculous, technical reasons. Every day I wake up happy that I have a much more supportive job outside of DCPS today. However, I feel bad for the city where ultimately the children are getting cheated by these political football moves and the lack of serious investigative reporting. The Post has a despicable editorial 'cheerleading' this RIF today. Equating the fired teachers to 'bad teachers' and the system 'shaking things up' while providing zero evidence that such occurred. Sure, some "bad teachers" (are these modern-day bogeymen?) may have been fired--but why not wait to scrutinize the rationale and the case by case fallout before publishing that assumption? I just finished writing the ombudsman about their irresponsible education reporting. You should as well: [e-mail]
And give you wife a hug; sounds like she did everything right and nothing wrong. This is often the case of victims of DCPS .

[Anonymous]

sorry; your wife Not enough coffee.

Tell her the people I interviewed with looked at my resume and literally laughed out loud at DCPS before extending me contracts.

She will be fine; but this is unjust.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. It is painful now, but everyone who leaves DC lands on fertile ground - - she will have no problems getting a job somewhere else. Your wife was probably one of the few good teachers who got cut. No situation like this could be perfect. I am glad that with the sacrifice the some individuals like you and your wife, that a the kids in this city will have better teachers overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. It is painful now, but everyone who leaves DC lands on fertile ground - - she will have no problems getting a job somewhere else. Your wife was probably one of the few good teachers who got cut. No situation like this could be perfect. I am glad that with the sacrifice the some individuals like you and your wife, that a the kids in this city will have better teachers overall.

What a crock of _____. You have no idea what type of teachers were let go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. It is painful now, but everyone who leaves DC lands on fertile ground - - she will have no problems getting a job somewhere else. Your wife was probably one of the few good teachers who got cut. No situation like this could be perfect. I am glad that with the sacrifice the some individuals like you and your wife, that a the kids in this city will have better teachers overall.

The last line here is extraordinary!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am the husband of a talented and passionate young teaching fellow who was riffed today after more than two years of dedicated service to her students.

Her urgent dedication to helping raise the achievement of high need and disadvantaged students has been a theme of her career. In rural Nepal, aged just 18, she creatively led a class of primary students through an uninspiring national curriculum (often protecting them from the headmaster's cane). In east London, she worked patiently to improve the employment prospects and English language skills of impoverished Bangladeshi immigrants. In Sudan, she developed a practical curriculum to improve the spoken language skills and cultural awareness of thousands of primary school children and hundreds of university students. On arriving in the district, she worked to train teachers for placements overseas before being accepted into the DC Fellows program, where, for the last couple of years she has worked tirelessly to raise the achievement levels of DC's young men and women.

I am so angry about the turn of events that led to her dismissal and so totally exhausted by the lack of support and appreciation by the successive administrations of her school that my faith in the DC school system and its leadership is all but gone. I question both the competence and strategy of its leadership at both a district and school level, but most of all I cannot understand the turn of events that led to her being evaluated as teacher that should be dismissed under any circumstances.

I am in the fortunate position to have witnessed her inspirational teaching and her tireless dedication to her students. I include myself amongst the many teachers she has trained, and was impressed and inspired when I taught alongside her in Sudan. She was observed for no more the five minutes by her current administration.

The DC public school system is truly in a sorry, sorry state. Today, in my humble opinion, DC students lost one of their most caring and committed advocates. They cannot afford to loose many more.

Sorry to hear this story, PP. Is it possible that your wife was RIFed because she was in a fellowship program instead of a regular teacher? Maybe the principal thought there was some sort of cost-savings there. Or maybe he(she) hadn't known your wife as long as other staff members? It certainly sounds insensible. Your wife sounds like an amazing and passionate teacher and I know that some new students in a much better system are going to get a great teacher, but I'm still sorry to read your story. (And I'm usually a real union-basher!) This whole sad story is just shady pool. My best wishes to your wife.

[Anonymous]

I am the wife who was Riffed. No, the administration did not know the other teachers better. The school had been reconstituted last year - so all the administration was new and the majority of teachers are first year teach for America. My position was cut- while the first year teachers were not. No one observed me (for more than five minutes total) and no one even talked to me about what I was doing with my classes, so I have a hard time figuring out how they made the decision. I guess I am now considered an old-school veteran, worth getting rid of my third year in the classroom. This is despite getting excellent evaluations last year!