More, Slander, Lies And Spin From Michelle Rhee

As told by Guy Brandenburg, retired DCPS teacher. I couldn't have said it any better. Check out Guy's blog when you get a chance @ http://gfbrandenburg.wordpress.com/

More slander, lies, and spin from Michelle Rhee

by Guy Brandenburg

"After strongly implying that the reason that she fired 266 teachers was that they were sexual perverts, sadists towards children, and never came to work, Rhee has once again put a “spin” on her comments. As you have probably read elsewhere, Rhee told a “Fast Company” reporter, “I got rid of teachers who had hit children, who had had sex with children, who had missed 78 days of school. Why wouldn’t we take those things into consideration?”

In a letter to the City Council Rhee has backtracked somewhat, saying that there was exactly ONE teacher out of the 266 who had been charged with sexual misconduct; but that teacher’s case has not been brought to a conclusion one way or the other. She also said that there were a total of SIX teachers who had at one time or another served suspensions for corporal punishment. Out of two hundred and sixty-six. And TWO who were accused of having had absences without leave. Let’s see: 1 + 6 + 2 = 9, I think. (Did I get that right?) And 9 out of 266 is a little more than 3 percent.

(Keep in mind that teachers can be, and often ARE, accused of corporal punishment or sexual misconduct without any basis in fact. I have seen it happen at my school. Also keep in mind that apparently neither the sexual misconduct case, nor the abuse of leave cases, had been brought to a conclusion. I don’t know any of the facts in any of the cases, and I don’t presume anything, one way or another.)

It is really shameful of Rhee to tar all of the staff that she illegitimately fired with such a nasty brush. But it’s so typical of her; like Ronald Reagan, she is utterly convinced of the rightfulness of her cause, and she seldom lets facts get in the way of her just-so stories.

By one account, in the same letter, Rhee apparently peddled the big lie that she can never fire anybody for misconduct like the cases she alleges, because of the big bad old union contract. That is a flat-out lie. What having the union does is much like the promise behind the Bill of Rights and the theory behind American jurisprudence: accusations need to be substantiated, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and anybody charged needs to be accorded due process in one way or another. Can a teacher or other school staff member get fired for actual, proven sexual misconduct with a student, or for a gross instance of proven corporal punishment? Absolutely! In fact, I can’t think of an easier way for a teacher to lose his/her job.

What Rhee is really complaining about is that she doesn’t think that teachers or other school staff know anything, are pretty much all evil malingerers, and don’t deserve any rights whatsoever. Unless they have clearly hitched their wagon to hers. (I bet you get the allusion!)

There used to be a word for people who believe that workers inherently have no rights to collective bargaining, nor to due process when accused of anything. This sort of person also believes that the true Leaders are better than anybody else, and deserve to be followed no matter what. Their present-day counterparts pull out all the stops to stop any attempt at union organizing in any US factory; believe that anybody accused of ‘terrorism’ should be tortured and held indefinitely without any charges, a trial, or the right to confront their accusers. Their educational counterparts – in my opinion – would like to boil down the educational process to little more than getting a certain number of answers right on multiple-choice tests in only two subjects, and believe that teachers are not to be trusted to come up with interesting or inspiring lesson plans.

Back in the 20th century, such people were quite proud to call themselves Fascists. Although they label themselves differently today, I don’t see a whole lot of difference. And I don’t think we need to stand for it."

Posted by The Washington Teacher, featuring GF Bradenburg

Join DC Teachers And Others Fighting To Save Our Jobs

Updated Message! 

 

 

Affected teachers and other DCPS employees can retain the law firm of

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A.

to file for a temporary retraining order against their pending termination

from DCPS due to an alleged RIF

 

 

Three hundred eighty-eight (388) affected DCPS teachers and other employees will no longer be employees of DCPS as of November 2, 2009. Unbeknownst to teachers, the legal filings of their representative, the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU), did not request a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). WTU President, George Parker reported that a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for November 5, 2009 at our most recent Thursday, WTU executive board meeting on October 22. Also see DC Wire link on the WTU amended lawsuit:  http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2009/10/wtu_amends_suit_district_holds.html

The purpose of seeking legal representation is to attempt to obtain a TRO.  The WTU’s court case filed promises a hearing after the affected teachers’ date of termination in 2010.  This strategy ensures one fact: teachers and other DCPS employees will be fired effective November 2, 2009 and will be fighting to get their jobs back.  Some legal experts consider “fighting from the bottom” a disadvantage in this type of case as courts often are more reluctant to reinstate individuals than to provide them legal relief if they are still in their positions. 

 

Nathan Saunders, WTU General Vice President, Candi Peterson, Blogger in residence at The Washington Teacher and rank and file union members make no statements concerning the WTU’s actions other than the facts herein.  Approximately sixty affected teachers and other affected employees had an exhaustive meeting with Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. to discuss legal options this past week. It is paramount that affected employees assist in the success of this endeavor by ensuring maximum participation of affected employees. Time is of essence, as failure to participate and not enough preparation time ensures that nothing will happen.

Interested parties are encouraged to visit the website of the law firm to explore its history, experience and activities particularly in employment law at jgllaw.com.   Should you need to discuss this matter further, please contact Nathan Saunders on 202-213-7081 or Candi Peterson at 301-613-6092.  You may also email me c/o saveourcounselors@gmail.com  with your name and telephone contact information if you are desirous of getting additional information. This TRO is available to other RIF'd employees. Feel free to spread the word.

Posted by the Washington Teacher featuring Candi Peterson, blogger in residence 

The Washington Teacher Responds To Allegations

I do hope that as readers of my blog that you will read today's Washington Post's article in which I have responded to allegations recently made by the Washington Teachers' Union President, George Parker. I encourage all of you to focus on the larger issues at hand that impact teaching and learning.


Rather than accept personal responsibility for not having negotiated a union contract over the past two years as the chief negotiator, George Parker scapegoats union members while using members dues monies in order to do so. As many of you may be unaware, Mr. Parker shared with all WTU Building Representatives that negotiating a contract with Chancellor Rhee is an elusive proposition. In Parker's words to city-wide Building Reps. in an August 29 meeting at AFT, the real reason there is no teachers contract proposal is because as he stated there were 4 sticking points that prevented him from finalizing our teachers' contract proposal with Rhee. Going to impasse was an option that Parker reiterated to members was a real possibility for the Washington Teachers' Union.


Please be mindful that as we face a possible reduction in force or outright termination of teachers, now is not the time for teachers and concerned others to be at odds with one another. This divide and conquer mentality is counterproductive for all of us.


I thank many of you for your kind words, emails of enouragement and support, text messages and phone calls on this subject. I encourage all of us to stay informed about what is happening on our educational landscape. I remain committed to the transparency of our union and providing all of you with relevant information as I learn of it as I believe that information is power. I have never at any point violated union confidentiality because there is no confidentiality agreement binding me nor teacher members of our negotiations team.

In solidarity,
Candi Peterson
(The Washington Teacher)


Rhee, Union May Be Close to Deal
Chancellor Might Drop New Pay Idea To Get Other Teacher-Removal Powers

By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 11, 2009

D.C. Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and the Washington Teachers' Union are close to an agreement that would give the District more power to remove ineffective teachers, but both sides say the negotiations could still collapse, and the union's president places the chances of actually closing a deal at no better than 50-50.

Neither Rhee nor Washington Teachers' Union President George Parker would elaborate on the unresolved issues, citing a confidentiality agreement. Interviews in recent weeks with sources on both sides of the bargaining table emphasize that nothing is final and that any agreement would require the approval of teachers. But they also say that the deal taking shape has evolved substantially over the past year, with both Rhee and the union poised to yield ground on key issues.

Gone, for example, is the two-tiered, "red-and-green" salary plan that garnered Rhee national attention when she unveiled it last summer. It would have paid some teachers as much as $130,000 annually -- with help from private foundations -- but required them to relinquish tenure protections for a year to qualify for the top pay scale, exposing them to dismissal without possibility of appeal. Gone also, city and union sources say, is Rhee's attempt to weaken tenure provisions as they are currently written, which grant teachers with at least two years' experience due-process rights in the event they are fired.

The nearly two-year negotiations are widely viewed as a potentially precedent-setting showdown between an aggressive new generation of urban education leaders, led by Rhee, and the American Federation of Teachers, WTU's politically potent parent organization. Although the major players decline to disclose details, they agree that their bargaining has reached the endgame.

"There are a few very critical issues that both sides have very strong opinions about," Parker said in an interview Wednesday. "The question is whether we can craft language that both sides can live with. We're at 50-50."

Rhee said the two sides are "very close" and characterized the talks as "down to a couple of smaller issues."

"Would either side say it is definitely going to happen? No," she said in an e-mail Wednesday. "However, we're further than we've been."

The pay package under discussion calls for a 20 percent increase over five years, including 3 percent retroactively for each year teachers have worked without a contract since it expired in September 2007. Under the terms being discussed, teachers with good records would be eligible to earn extra money under a pay-for-performance program that would begin in 2010.

Tenure protections are likely to remain in place despite Rhee's outspoken criticism of the provisions as a major obstacle to reform. As recently as July 5, she told an audience at the Aspen Ideas Festival: "Right now, the culture within education and within the teaching ranks is once you have tenure, you have a job for life. I believe that mind-set has to be completely flipped on its head and that we have to move out of the idea that a teaching job is a right. . . . And unless you can show you are doing positive things for kids, you cannot have the privilege of teaching."

But Rhee is close to securing other new powers that would allow her to eventually remove ineffective teachers from classrooms. The proposal, first reported by teacher and WTU trustee Candi Peterson in her "Washington Teacher" blog, would allow the District to remove teachers from schools -- because of closure, consolidation, declining enrollment, budget cuts or takeover by an outside organization -- with minimal regard for seniority. Under current rules, teachers with the least amount of service are "excessed" first.

Under the proposal, teachers would be cut according to a formula that gives greatest weight to the previous year's performance evaluation, "unique skills and qualifications" and other contributions to the school community. Length of service would be weighted the least.

The proposal would also give principals more latitude to select staff from the pool of cut teachers. Currently, teachers in that group who don't find spots are assigned to schools by the school district's human resources department. If there are more excessed teachers than open slots, teachers at other schools can be bumped from their jobs on the basis of seniority.

Under a proposed "mutual consent" provision, principals would have more power to pick and choose teachers. Teachers who failed to find new assignments would have three options. They could remain on the payroll for a year, accepting at least two spot assignments as substitutes or tutors or in some other support role. If they can't find a permanent job after a year, they would be fired. Teachers could also choose to take a $25,000 buyout or, if they have at least 20 years' service to the city school system, retire with full benefits.

The proposals have triggered new tensions within the union's leadership. Executive Vice President Nathan Saunders, a longtime critic of Parker's, said the proposals all but eliminate job security for teachers.

"This contract looks to be another approach to diminishing teachers' employment rights," Saunders said.

Peterson's decision to publish draft documents from the contract negotiations drew an unusual public rebuke from Parker, who sent a letter and a voice mail message to members denouncing her for having "maliciously undermined" the confidentiality of the talks.

Peterson, who said she is not bound by any confidentiality agreement, said teachers have grown frustrated with the lack of information available about the protracted negotiations.

"He's promised to tell members about the contract, but he never follows through," she said.

Posted by The Washington Teacher