Educational Rheeform = Plan B

Chancellor Rhee and Mayor Fenty's press conference today announced that a tentative agreement has not been reached between DCPS and the WTU. A lot of teachers are now pointing the finger of blame at one another for the impasse. "A wise man told me don't argue with fools because people from a distance can't tell who is who. - Jay-Z"

Here's the short of it as reported by Bill Turque of the WaPost on October 2nd :
D.C. Schools Chief Shores Up Power to Fire Teachers

"D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, stymied in her attempts to negotiate a labor contract that would give her more power to fire ineffective teachers, today announced a series of steps that she said would allow her to achieve that objective on her own. Among the measures Rhee plans to impose are a new teacher evaluation system based primarily on student test scores and other achievement benchmarks. She also promised more aggressive implementation of legal provisions already in place, including the ability to eliminate teacher jobs -- because of declining enrollment or school closures -- using seniority as only one of several factors taken into consideration. Rhee said she intended to more intensively use the so-called "90-day plan" that allows administrators to give teachers three months' notice to improve or face dismissal. "Where we are now is an incredibly unfortunate place," Rhee said. Rhee has been threatening to implement what she called "Plan B" for the past couple of months."

One thing I wish Rhee would point out is: her educational reform plan (yet to be revealed ). I know our school system would be better served by the development of one. Posted by Candi.