This week marks the beginning of a series of meetings between teachers and officials from The Washington Teachers’ Union meant to clarify the much-discussed performance pay plan at the center of the ongoing teachers’ contract negotiations. D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has said that initial coverage of the proposal included some incorrect details, and promised to speak with union members during a Q&A at each meeting, telling the Post she plans to offer, "some solace and evidence that we are not going to be making these decisions capriciously or placing them solely in the hands of school principals."

However, WTU Vice President Nathan Saunders and board member Candi Peterson objected to WTU president George Parker’s invitation to Rhee, arguing in an email to local and national board members that "These actions appear to be disguised opportunities for Mr. Parker and Ms. Rhee to jointly sell performance pay, void or modify teacher tenure and seniority and otherwise destroy" the Washington Teachers' Union. According to the Post, Saunders even promised “civil disobedience” should Rhee speak.

Two local bloggers, who are both teachers and WTU members, feel differently. Ms. Angala detailed her reassuring exchange with Rhee at an informational session last night, and DC Teacher Chic worries that Rhee won’t be present at her session later today because of the union complaints. “If Rhee isn't there, the BS will be flying,” she writes.

To be fair, the WTU has come a long way in a few years time, and is charged with representing a diverse group of educators - no easy task. Union president George Parker has his critics, but he’s also doing more than anyone else to keep the WTU relevant and bring it into the 21st century through cooperative reform. Keeping teachers informed and providing them opportunities to question the Chancellor is an important responsibility of the union. However, any progress made is threatened by the childish antics we’ve seen from Saunders in the last few months, including his almost fanatic opposition to a voluntary proposal that would pay teachers significantly more for doing a good job. As Rhee quipped before the House Committee on Education and Labor last week, "It puzzles me that the issue of rewarding teachers for success rather than seniority is a controversial one."

D.C. Creates Home School Rules: Last week the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education and the D.C. State Board of Education approved regulations for District parents who wish to home school their children. Parents or guardians must now submit their intent to educate their kids at home in writing and keep a portfolio of student work for District review twice a year. WTOP reports that currently about 130 District students are home schooled, and that no previous regulations existed. This is good news, coming in the wake of the Benita Jacks murders (Jacks was supposedly home schooling her daughters at the time of their deaths). The rules were developed with input from the home-schooling community. While some parents may complain about the new city oversight, they can console themselves that they live in D.C. and not California.

Poll Shows Majority Support Fenty/Rhee: A new poll released by the New York group Education Reform Now showed that 65 percent of District residents approve of Mayor Fenty’s efforts to improve public education since taking office, and a 55 percent majority of respondents approved of Michelle Rhee’s actions as chancellor, while 20 percent disapproved.

In other findings, a majority “classified the overall quality of the DC schools as ‘poor,’ said they believe that public charter schools are a good idea, and that working and poor parents should be given financial assistance in the form of a voucher to send their children to a school of their choice.” Participants also cited “improving public education” as their second most-pressing issue, following “jobs and the economy.” Full results available here (PDF).

Schools Notes: Sen. Lieberman opines in the Post in support of the recent DCPS reforms, while Sen. McCain touts the D.C. voucher program in his education plan… Petition launched in support of excessed Woodrow Wilson HS science teacher… Rhee is lauded by a South Korean newspaper… The Post weighs research and opinion on the new Pre-K through 8th grade campuses to open this fall... and a Capitol Hill school gets a Chinese language and culture program.