Rhee declares war on D.C. teachers

With a little help from her friends

D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee says she’s still committed to wholesale firing of teachers in violation of the union bargaining agreement. Her plan—use scab TFA teachers to replace veterans. Rotherham helps her make the case.

Data compiled by Andrew Rotherham and Margaret Sullivan for Education Sector, a reform group, shows that two new innovative approaches to hiring that do not require traditional teacher training -- Teach For America, which seeks out recent graduates of prestigious colleges; and the D.C. Teaching Fellows Program, that recruits mid-career professionals -- have put teachers with higher SAT scores into the classrooms… The Teach for America teachers had average college grade point averages of 3.50, and 63.9 percent came from "highly selective" colleges or universities.

Rhee wants teachers to abandon their collective-bargaining rights in exchange for a promised pay raise for those who aren't fired. The Gates, Broad, and Walton foundations have agreed to underwrite the pay raises, but only temporarily.

The Walton Family Foundation, created in 1987 by the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, has invested heavily in nonunion charter schools, and critics say many of its contributions reflect an agenda that promotes privatization of public education. (Washington Post)

If the union buys this, I have a condo down in Florida...