Teachers and school counselors who were recently laid off by the Rhee administration have stepped up their fight on behalf of unfairly laid off teacher colleagues. These group of laid off teachers and school staff are known as Fight for Fired DC personnel. Included in this activist group are Washington Teachers’ Union Executive Board members Sheila Gill, Willie Brewer and Agnes Dyson. This group plans to work to combat unfair November 2 teacher cuts by Chancellor Rhee’s administration.
Fight For Fired DC Personnels’ first actions included advancing their written request to the Washington Teachers’ Union for financial assistance to the cover the cost of their legal appeals to OEA (Office of Employee Appeals). This request was sent to the WTU President George Parker as well as AFT President Randi Weingarten via certified mail.
At last week’s rescheduled December 15 executive board meeting, Sheila Gill, WTU Board member proposed a motion that the WTU will file a legal appeal of Judge Bartnoff’s November 24 ruling. It was noted that there is a 30 day timeline to file an appeal. Although much discussion ensued, WTU President George Parker did not lend his support for a motion to appeal Bartnoff’s decision. He indicated that he did not vote since the motion did not result in a tie. Unfortunately, our union attorney was not present at the WTU Executive Board meeting.
I spoke in favor of laid off teachers’ right to an appeal even though WTU President George Parker would not allow me to speak in the first round and only reluctantly allowed me to speak in the second round of discussions on this matter. I do not agree with the parliamentarian’s opinion (John Tatum) that I should not be allowed to vote ex-officio as a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) given that a decision was made for BOT members to be included in all executive board meetings. So it seems that Parker twists Robert's Rules of Order to his convenience denying me the opportunity to speak or requiring me to speak last in an effort to prevent my voice from being heard.
Given that union president, George Parker historically is not a fighter, it is not surprising that he does not support teachers' legal right to file an appeal to Judge Bartnoff’s November 24 legal decision. However, what came as a surprise to me is that most elected teacher board members acknowledged that they had not even read Judge’s Bartnoff’s decision on the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and preliminary injunction which is not only posted on the WTU website but has also been written about and discussed in the mainstream media. Rather than take a stand to support their laid off colleagues right to a legal appeal, teachers on the executive board, some of whom acknowledged that they had previously been laid off- decided to either abstain from voting or cast their vote no.
It is troubling when teachers who are elected to represent teachers are uninformed about matters that impact our membership and vote to abstain from voting. Among those who abstained from voting included Robert Willis who by the way is a laid off teacher from Ballou Senior High and former WTU Building Representative.
A roll call vote was held and here are the results:
Abstained from voting: Maria Angala (teacher/Jefferson MS), Joyce Armoo ( teacher/Seaton ES), Deborah Hines (teacher/Beers ES) , Andre’ Taylor (itinerant librarian), Robert Willis (RIF’d teacher/Ballou SHS)
Voted No: Camille Locke (teacher/Hart MS) , Erich Martel (teacher/Wilson SHS ), Lorraine Smith (teacher/Bancroft ES)
Voted Yes: Willie Brewer (RIF'ed teacher/Marshall ES) , Agnes Dyson (RIF'ed teacher/Woodson SHS), Sheila Gill (RIF'ed counselor/McKinley TSHS) , Nathan Saunders (WTU Gen. V.P.), Diane Terrell (teacher/Stoddert ES).
Not Allowed To vote: Candi Peterson, WTU Board of Trustees
* According to Parliamentarian, John Tatum’s interpretation, WTU Board of Trustees are not allowed to vote even as ex-officio member’s of the WTU Executive Board. I have repeatedly challenged this interpretation to no avail.
Absent: Sallie Littlejohn Dorsey, Pablo Giron’, Jackie Hines (BOT), Milton Bruce Williams, Rashida Young
Retired or resigned: Derek Davis, Gloria Everette, Tenia Pritchard, Joshua Rascoe
Given that there were five YES votes mostly from the laid off WTU Executive Board members to three NO votes, the motion passed. The WTU President agreed to notify our lawyer On December 16 that the motion passed and request that he prepare his legal appeal.
Posted by The Washington Teacher featuring Candi Peterson, blogger in residence
Bill Turque in his DC Schools Insider blog further examined Rhee's now infamous comments to Fast Co. magazine that she "got rid of teachers who had hit children, who had sex with children." Since it is likely that Turque's examination of this story won't make the mainstream press- I decided to post it here. 
This is another example of Michelle Rhee bashing DC teachers all across the country rather than taking responsibility for the fact that she is an inept manager and only made student achievement in DC public school worse in her tenure. (Check out NAEP scores for DC black students and how the achievement gap is worse than when she came). Rhee has to go around on the talk circuit and convince others because no one in the DC area is listening anymore to her rhetoric. Rhee like the mayor only have one weapon which is to fire thousands of DC employees. Their goal is to destroy all unions in this city and privatize city government.
The DC city council has promised long ago an independent evaluation of our public schools as well as an internal audit. To date we are still awaiting this to happen. Many of us believe that the results will demonstrate Rhee’s exaggerated claims of student achievement and fiscal MISMANaGEMENT.
My question is what is taking so long City Council member Brown.
Signed, sick and tired of being sick and tired of Rhee and Fenty
Chancellor Michelle Rhee spoke about everyone being accountable but herself. I think her
performance is more important than anyone she spoke of during the interview with Mr. Cooper.
What I noticed was that Rhee’s answer to practically every question was “Human Capital” (I think that’s Rhee’s management-speak for “teachers.”)
Cooper asks what’s next in education? And Rhee answers, “I think one of the things were going to see over the next few years is a real focus on teacher quality and human capital in schools.”
Cooper asks about changes in education and Rhee answers, “I actually don’t think it’s going to be something in the realm of computers or smart boards…. I think the real innovation is going to happen around accountability for the adults in the system…with the focus on human capital…. How we change the ways teachers are thought about in society, how they’re compensated; how they’re evaluated…. That’s what’s really going to drive the innovation going forward.”
Cooper asks about creative solutions to education and Rhee answers, “It’s absolutely the human capital. It’s the quality of educators in the classroom and leading our schools…. “
Why even go to do the trouble of bringing in students to comment, when they were just used as shills for Rhee to put down teachers. When the first student commented on older teachers who “have connections,” Rhee saw an opening to blast unions: “It’s a significant problem that in this country right now we have a dynamic where you can be incredibly ineffective. You can, you know, actually take kids backwards in terms of their academic achievement, every year, year in and year out and still have a job.” [I think she should be required to present the data that proves she has kept teachers on the payroll who have taken kids backwards over a period of years, and then explain why she didn’t put those teachers on the 90 day plan and have them fired.]
When the second student suggested more technology for the future, Rhee disagreed, suggesting more focus on human capital, of course.
This interview was a farce. Anderson Cooper simply provided a forum for Rhee to publicize her only plan for reforming DC schools — firing teachers.
When Chancellor Rhee arrived in town she did not create an education plan. After much criticism, she created an educational plan 18 months into her term. Her educational plan included a plan to get rid of a significant share of her teaching workforce through buyouts, layoffs, terminations, etc.
Chancellor Rhee has since fired a significant share of teachers, administrators and school staff without due process and without regard to their performance ratings. Rhee believes in firing probationary teachers without regard to performance, seasoned administrators with schools that have made documented gains and the list is endless. Rhee recently terminated 388 teachers and school staff via a reduction in force in November ‘09 after school started which has created over sized classes & teachers teaching outside of their certification. Rhee hired over 900 teachers this year then argued that she had a budget deficit which caused her to terminate 266 teachers and over 100 school system employees, many of whom were highly qualified and certified. No credible school system in America terminates highly qualified and certified teachers & staff while continuing to hire mainly new teachers who lack experience and are at not highly qualified. This ensures that mostly students of color are more likely to be taught by an inexperienced and un-certified teacher thereby contributing to the increasing disparity in the achievement gap between black and white students. This is also a violation of NCLB. Students of color are more likely to be taught by a teacher who is provisionally certified, inexperienced and lacking in HQ credentials.
Certainly the piece by Anderson Cooper was a farce. I agree with e-favorite that Rhee was simply given a platform to spew her lies and continue to bash public school teachers on CNN as well as give a plug to Mayor Fenty for his next election bid. This is about capitalism and privatization of public education through hefty million dollar contracts to groups like TFA and the New Teacher Project. This creates a revolving door workforce of inexperienced teachers who stay an average of 3 years and leave before gaining the experience, professional development, mentoring, coursework and professional certification to become better teachers.
I do hope that the DC CIty Council in their oversight role of public education will take a stand and continue to investigate instances of fraud within DC public schools. Rhee is still hiring teachers despite the fact that she claims that there is a budget deficit and one that is continuing to grow under her leadership and will require more layoffs in 2010-2011. Rhee more than likely will fire more teachers within this next year.
I support an immediate forensic audit by the DC City Council, like the one conducted in the Barbara Bullock union scandal. I also support getting on with the independent evaluation so that the results can be provided to the public before Mayor Fenty’s next election. What can you do to help facilitate this Mr. Brown and how can we be of help to support your efforts ? It is finally time for some real accountability of Michelle Rhee.
While there is some political hay to be made trashing the chancellor (especially by those who do not support the mayor), the vast majority of residents understand and respect that she came into a system that had been wrecked by adults for political gain. We know that WTU is part of the problem. Unions can be part of the solution and are a great resource for the country, but this union needs to dismantle and a new union formed with legit leadership.
Sorry, Ronnie, I do not “understand and respect that [Rhee] came into a system that had been wrecked by adults for political gain.”
I was very excited when she first came in, because I hoped she’d improve the school system. I could not longer support her when it became obvious that her goal was simply to bust the union for the political gain of adults and didn’t care at all about effects on kids (or she couldn’t have RIFd teachers mid-year, upsetting students learning environment)
I believe the Michelle Rhee feature on Anderson Cooper 360 was both appalling, inaccurate, biased and an example of why I will NEVER support anything Anderson Cooper speaks on, produces, writes, edits, tweets, googles or affirms in any way. It is bad enough that the City Council has allowed her to manufacture RIFs, conduct massive layoffs and to badmouth the citizens and children of the District as well as its workforce. However, when a person like Anderson Cooper gives an educational dilletante so much exposure and allows a platform for her to lie about data with no one to represent the opposite side of the argument, something is very wrong. The only scores that have improved are white students’ scores and that translates to a problem for everyone because all children must succeed!!
Councilman Brown, you were merely ‘present’ the day Peter Nickles became the Attorney General of our nation’s capital. We need you to be present and ACTIVE to rid the city of leaders who operate in the reptilian manner Rhee espouses. Ronnie above posts that the current union needs to be dismantled and reformed into a different organization. While I agree that all organizations have their problems, it is a serious issue that Rhee is unable to respect or follow ANY RULES of any organization and that she is allowed by the supreme legislative body to operate with impunity while breaking the Anti-Deficiency Law and other similar laws.
Rhee cannot be trusted to be responsible for anyone’s children with the destructive decisions she has made while responsible for students in Sacramento. Ms. Rhee was made aware of sexual allegations against her fiance when she was in the position of being a mandatory reporter in Sacramento. She did not. There is no statute of limitations with respect to her failure to act appropriately within the confines of the law. Rhee also interfered in a federal investigation by contacting former Inspector General Gerald Walpin, the man whom President Obama chose to fire or have fired when allegations about her fiance came out. How is this at all acceptable?
People say this has nothing to do with her current position. What a naive perception. It has everything to do with her current position. A woman who is amoral enough to protect a man who prefers little girls to women his own age is now engaged to a woman with a child’s body. If she can interfere with a federal investigation without reproach, what wouldn’t she do? It is clear she has no respect for the City Council or even for the President of the United States if she dares to interfere with an Inspector General. After all, the President did sponsor legislation to protect Inspectors General.
Well, he is another of Rhee’s victims. Is she more powerful than the President? Her level of power reminds me of a poignant scene of the motion picture Malcolm X where a police officer commented “That’s too much power for one man to have.” Rhee is clearly more powerful than the mayor and we all know exactly what he thinks of the City Council, of which he was once a part.
The proper way to effect change is to follow the rules in place while making changes to the process by which things are done. It is no better for a broken system to be replaced by a tyrant, his out-of-control undereducated and underexperienced chancellor and his police chief who allegedly bends the law for the privileged.