Education: D.C. Schools Chief Fires 241 Teachers

Washington, D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced Friday the firing of 241 teachers who did not meet standards set forth by a new district-wide evaluation system.

The firings, which put D.C. at the center of a national debate over teacher performance and accountability, come on the heels of a long-awaited contract agreement reached between the Washington Teachers' Union and Chancellor Rhee last month. The contract increases new teacher salaries by 21 percent but gets rid of teachers' seniority designations. Instead, teachers will be evaluated based on students' classroom performance and are eligible for $20,000 to $30,000 in "performance pay" if their students exceed expectations on standardized tests and if they meet other benchmarks.

Chancellor Rhee said in a statement that "Every child in a District of Columbia public school has a right to a highly effective teacher -- in every classroom, of every school, of every neighborhood, of every ward, in this city.That is our commitment. Today, with the release of the first year of results from IMPACT, the educator assessment system, we take another step toward making that commitment a reality."

For more, see D.C. Schools Chief Rhee Fires 241 Teachers Using New Evaluation System by Veronica Devore and Imani M. Cheers, July 23, 2010, at PBS.