In a letter sent last week to DCPS teachers, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee directly addressed ten of the most frequent concerns she hears from teachers, ranging from “Some people say that you want to fire all the veterans in DCPS and replace them with Teach For America teachers or DC Teaching Fellows. Is that true?” to “There are too many initiatives going on. I’m worn out and overwhelmed. What’s your priority?”
Rhee admits, “… we’ve thrown so many different programs at you. Please know that this comes from a desire to support you, not inundate you. But I now see that we may have pushed on too many different fronts all at the same time.” As the Post points out, in addition to Rhee’s controversial contract proposal, shuttering of 23 schools and mass firing of central office employees, principals, and non-certified teachers, “are a flurry of pilot programs and policy changes that have placed increasing demands on many teachers. They include Saturday programs to prepare students for the DC-CAS standardized tests; a push for inclusion of special education students in regular classes; a new accelerated math program; a cash reward program for students in selected middle schools that requires new paperwork and record-keeping; and new guidelines for bilingual, arts and health education.”
In response to the letter, The Washington Teachers’ Union president George Parker and American Federation of Teachers head Randi Weingarten issued a joint release criticizing the chancellor: “Perhaps, instead of choosing to publicly negotiate directly with teachers, she should take the time she’s set aside for ‘Q&A sessions’ and spend it at the bargaining table.”
The WTU submitted their counter contract proposal to Rhee last month, but they probably shouldn’t hold their collective breath. D.C. Wire reported that at a recent D.C. Council hearing, Rhee said the counter-propsal, “quite frankly bore no resemblance to any of the conversations we’d had,” and “definitely did not propel us forward.”
Meanwhile, when it comes to student achievement, Rhee tells the Washington Times, “On an absolute scale … I would give myself an F.”