Reply to JLG vs McDuffie on public schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]https://capitalcommonsense.substack.com/p/im-a-dcps-parent-janeese-lewis-georges

"I'm a DCPS Parent. Here's Why Janeese Lewis George's Big Education Plan Worries Me."

"The problem is that, for seemingly well-meaning but misguided reasons, Lewis George is planning to dismantle successful education reforms that have helped the District achieve more than a decade of progress on math and reading. Above all, she has said she wants to “end” IMPACT, the pay-for-performance system in place since 2009 that rewards our best teachers with large bonuses while cutting loose our worst.

Lewis George has only offered a fuzzy outline of how she’d replace today’s system. But her public statements suggest we could wind up with a weaker alternative that puts less emphasis on concrete measures of student success."[/quote]

My guess is that the author is in the room with us.

Just like anyone who cares about education in DC should be able to see the pros and cons of charters, they should also be able to see the pros and cons of IMPACT. It is completely possible we have extracted all the gains we are going to achieve, as an education system, from IMPACT and now it is time to think about doing something different. At some point, IMAPCT itself becomes too much the focus of educators — from central office to the classroom — and we need to refocus on what is happening with our kids and how much they are learning. [/quote]

No, I shared the article but didn't write it. And my kids are in a charter school, so this doesn't directly affect us.

I'm familiar with the criticisms of IMPACT, which are also discussed in the article, but "It is completely possible we have extracted all the gains we are going to achieve, as an education system, from IMPACT" doesn't make any sense. Schools are continually hiring new teachers, and ensuring teacher quality is an ongoing job. If IMPACT worked well in the past, that's an argument for keeping it in the future. And if you don't like it, then the question is, what's a better approach? There are lots of great teachers in DCPS, but there are many who need help, and some who should never be in a classroom.[/quote]

IMPACT was good 20 years ago when it replaced an evaluation system that was not only not being used but was also ineffective in helping struggling teachers and getting bad teachers out.

Now, IMPACT itself is more the focus than what is actually working for kids. We have very good teachers in DCPS despite IMPACT not because of it. Even the architect of IMPACT did not take it with him when he moved school systems. For the sake of continuously improving our public schools, it is time to turn the page on IMPACT and figure out how to reach more kids.[/quote]

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