Earlier this morning, the Washington Teachers Union sent its members the results of a survey about IMPACT, the new employee evaluation system used by DCPS. The survey was sent out to DCPS teachers last spring, and was completed by 928 teachers. According to an email from the Washington Teachers’ Union, the results are being released now because, “media interest in the survey results is much higher than earlier this year.” That’s probably true — just hours ago, news broke that 241 teachers had been fired for “ineffective” performance under the new system. George Parker, president of the WTU, has announced that the union will appeal the firings.

It is obvious that those of us who live and breathe as citizens of the District of Columbia are used to a measure of issues in government oversight — for instance, today’s news that an auditor’s survey of five District government agencies uncovered nearly 700 unpaid fines totaling over $70,000 assessed to government vehicles. Nothing shocking, right? But here’s a legitimate question for anyone to ask: just who in the hell is responsible for…

Photo by M.V. Jantzen In a blow to the Washington Teachers’ Union, the D.C. Superior Court today rejected the union’s bid to reinstate the 266 teachers who were fired by DCPS in October. The teachers were laid off as part of a large reduction in force (RIF) that DCPS has maintained was necessitated by a $4.4 million budget shortfall. According to the Post, Judge Judith Bartnoff argued that the WTU failed to prove any…

As promised, here are some images captured by DCist photographer Francis Chung during Thursday afternoon’s Washington Teachers Union-organized protest outside the John A. Wilson Building. The protesters’ beef is with D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s mostrecent round of layoffs, which saw almost 400 school employees abruptly lose their jobs just a month into the school year. Rhee and Mayor Adrian Fenty say the firings were necessary due to an unexpected budget gap. Angry teachers and…

WTU President George Parker. Photo by Meaghan Gay for DCist. As we mentioned in the Morning Roundup, the D.C. public schools announced yesterday that an unexpected $40 million budget shortfall will require spending cuts and personnel reductions by the end of October. In a letter to teachers, George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union, expressed anger that the WTU was not notified of the cuts prior to yesterday’s announcement, and suggested that the…

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,…

In the PR battle for the hearts and minds of D.C. teachers, it looks like the Washington Teachers’ Union is stepping up their game. The WTU has launched a series of radio ads and a new website promoting its teachers’ contract proposal, which they recently submitted to schools chancellor Michelle Rhee in response to the controversial contract DCPS offered last year. The web site, United For D.C. Kids, argues that the WTU proposal is…

DCPS teachers who supported D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s contract proposal from the beginning have got to be annoyed. On Monday, Rhee announced that the minimum 28 percent across the board raises offered in July now must be trimmed due to the poor economy. The contract negotiations have reached their 15th month. The District will soon submit a revised offer to the Washington Teachers’ Union, which has thus far resisted the contract. Rhee did…

There’s been a lot of back and forth of late between The Washington Teachers’ Union and DCPS about a policy commonly called a 90-day plan. Some within the union have accused Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee of using 90-day plans as a means of targeting older teachers for dismissal. The Washington Post’s Bill Turque reported that Rhee spokesperson Dena Iverson denies any age discrimination, arguing that the average age of DCPS teachers who Rhee has…

One of the drawbacks to having a high-profile figure like Michelle Rhee running the city schools is that so much of the education coverage tends to be about Rhee herself, rather than the work her office is (or isn’t) doing. In a column last weekend, Colbert I. King argued that “the issue is not whether the chancellor is a polarizing figure with her take-no-prisoners approach, or is a fearless crusader against defenders of the…