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The day in the Life of a RIFFED DCPS Special Educator
On Friday, October 2, the DC Public School system terminated 388 employees, including 229 teachers. The miserable Washington Post Editorial page -- little more than a mouth piece for DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee -- applauded the layoffs. The paper claimed that the dismissed teachers were incompetent and obstacles to improving education in DC. One of those let go has chosen to tell her own story. What she describes has nothing in common with the Post's cheerleading account of the layoffs.
This article was originally posted in the DCUM Forum thread "229 Teachers RIFed, see DC Wire for full story". It is being republished here with the permission of the author, who has chosen to remain anonymous.
Most of yesterday was a normal day for me, a third year special education teacher. I wake up at 5 am. After getting up, getting ready, and feeding my four month old baby, I check my DCPS email, respond to a question about a student, and enter grades from the day before. Everything I need to do online I do at home in the early morning, because I don't have internet access at school.
I take the metro to Anacostia and then walk the mile to the high school, arriving to work at 7:30. On the way in I see the assistant principal who tells me that there will be 10 students added to my caseload of 20 and I should consult with their general education teachers about their progress. I go to my classroom and prep. I set up learning stations for my group of diverse first period learners. Some will be doing a math activity, others a reading activity for the first 20 minutes of class. All teachers are then called to a meeting. We are told that DCPS has lost their contract with Hawk One Security, and therefore today there will be no security guards. All teachers will need to give up their planning periods to man the halls.
