Reason.com
Last Chance for School Reform
D.C. schools are the worst in the nation, but they may also be ripe for big changes.
(Page 3 of 4)
Despite dissension within the ranks, when the doors opened on the 2008–09 school year, it looked like the local union president might be ready to take Rhee’s deal seriously. But in December 2008, Randi Weingarten, the head of the powerful American Federation of Teachers (AFT), stepped in. (D.C.’s union, like those in several other big-city districts, is part of the AFT, not the larger National Education Association.)
After a half-hearted counterproposal from Weingarten’s team in January 2009, negotiations once again ground to a halt. For her part, Rhee sent out a cheery, exclamation mark–filled letter to D.C. teachers in February lauding Weingarten’s intervention in the process, claiming to “welcome her involvement and have high hopes that we’ll reach an agreement.” But if the two women were sending each other enthusiastically over-punctuated emails in March, by November the relationship had progressed strictly to frowny emoticons, with Weingarten telling The Wall Street Journal that Rhee “has so poisoned the environment that I am not sure that we can ever get back to a good situation here.”
Weingarten is no dummy. Rhee’s endgame, which she has made fairly explicit, is to seize control of hiring and firing from the unions. And with the national union involved, the D.C. contract is imbued with more precedent-setting value. Among other things, the power Rhee seeks means stopping the practice of shoveling teachers no one wants into meaningless jobs no one wants them in. In other districts, this is known as the Dance of the Lemons. In D.C., jobless educators with first dibs on openings are called “excessed” teachers, and they are the dead weight in a slowly sinking system. If the unions accept Rhee’s bribes, their stranglehold on the nation’s schools will be endangered.
In pre-Rhee D.C. the single glimmer of hope for many families was the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships Program. Funded by a separate congressional appropriation of $14 million, it offered vouchers to kids in failing schools, allowing them to attend private school instead of their assigned public school. The program took no money from the city budget and was hugely popular with parents and kids; since 2004 more than 7,200 students had applied for a limited number of slots. Last year 1,700 kids were accepted. Next year there will be none. On the campaign trail, Barack Obama had promised to let scientific results determine his education policy. In office, however, he let political influence kill the program even as initial studies were showing positive gains by students and high parental satisfaction. The National Education Association, which is consistently one of the biggest single donors to U.S. political campaigns, pressured the Democratic Congress to eliminate funding for vouchers in 2009. Obama promptly signed the death sentence into law.
The fight over vouchers and charter schools—both of which serve as workarounds to the ossified hiring/firing rules of public schools—is playing out all around the country, with teachers unions usually coming out on the winning side. Consider the philanthropist Robert Thompson, who tried his hardest to give $200 million to the city of Detroit. Thompson’s plan was to establish 15 charter schools with a focus on improving graduation rates in a city where two-thirds of kids quit before receiving a diploma. After spending most of 2003 trying desperately to get legislative approval for the plan, Thompson withdrew the offer. The teachers union deep-sixed the proposal in order to save its members from competition, even at the expense of drastically increasing the city’s net spending on education.
In D.C., despite the voucher setback, the fight for charter schools seems to have been won before anyone really noticed. As chancellors cycled through the system—six of them in the last 10 years—charters grew quietly but rapidly, without much in the way of overall strategic planning by the city. It’s relatively easy to open a charter in the District, and a kid in a charter school costs the city less than a kid in a public school, so education entrepreneurs have taken full advantage.
Rhee is very pro-charter, but her rhetoric on the issue is sly. At an appearance at downtown Washington’s E Street Cinema last November, Rhee conflated charter and traditional schools over and over in her remarks. She simply refuses to accept the oft-repeated assertion that letting kids go to charter schools undermines traditional schools. Both types of schools operate under the supervision of her department, she notes. “We have to be aggressive about closing down schools—charter and traditional public schools—that don’t provide an excellent education,” she told a theater of parents, before running off to another meeting in someone’s living room. “Change is difficult. And anytime you try change, you’re going to have people who feel angsty about that.”
‘We Believe Great Teachers Matter Tremendously’
That night at the E Street Cinema, Rhee had just announced her engagement to Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento and a charter school founder himself. Johnson is better known, however, as a former point guard for the Phoenix Suns. He also has a couple of sex scandals under his belt, a fact that Rhee’s antagonists gleefully pounce on. Johnson paid a 16-year-old girl’s family $230,000 in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, and a similar allegation was made in 2007 by a student at Johnson’s Sacramento charter school, St. Hope, although the accuser later recanted. In April 2009, St. Hope agreed to pay a settlement over inappropriate use of federal AmeriCorps education grants. In this, as in all things, Rhee has been proactive, doing damage control on the personal scandals and flying to Sacramento to deal with the fallout from the AmeriCorps settlement. (This will be her second marriage to an education reformer: Kevin Huffman, whom she divorced in 2007, is an executive vice president at Teach for America.)
Vouchers and charter schools can never be perfect tests of new educational modes. When teachers unions accuse charters and vouchers of skimming the cream off the top of the public school population, they’re not entirely wrong. These programs don’t snag the smartest kids or the richest. But someone, somewhere has to care enough about a kid to get him into a charter school or voucher program. Without real reform at the underlying schools, the students left behind will remain just as hopeless as they are today, while peers with more motivated parents find other solutions.
Reforming those traditional schools has proven damnably difficult to do. In Chicago, Arne Duncan—then the CEO of the city’s schools, now the national secretary of education—was able to make some progress on getting rid of bad teachers. But even in Duncan’s district, hiring and firing remain difficult and time-consuming, and teacher ratings continue to be inflated. Duncan shares Rhee’s focus on personnel, pioneering some merit-pay pilot programs in Chicago and telling Education Week: “We believe great teachers matter tremendously. When you’re reluctant or scared to make that link, you do a grave disservice to the teaching profession and to our nation’s children.”
But where Rhee makes enemies, Duncan has been able to make friends. In addition to winning the endorsement of AFT’s Weingarten, Duncan got an approving nod from President George W. Bush’s departing education chief, Margaret Spellings, when he was nominated by Obama in 2008. In July 2009, Duncan told PBS’s Newshour: “Money is never going to be the entire answer in education. I will tell you, quite frankly, far too often adult dysfunction has stood in the way of student achievement and has hindered students’ ability to learn.” His rejection of the tired “more money” formula in favor of a focus on teacher quality may be the most heartening development in the Obama administration.
Film critic Roger Ebert (of all people) recently noted that in many ways, the possibilities for reform look better in Kenya than they do in D.C. or Detroit. He was blogging about two new documentaries: Waiting for Superman, which discusses the problems of U.S. school systems and features Rhee, and A Small Act, which is about a woman who helps pay for a boy’s education in Kenya. Ebert arrived at this difficult-to-swallow conclusion: “The fact is that the next African or Indian taxi driver you meet has quite possibly benefited from a better education than the average American high school graduate.”
With Rhee’s root-and-branch reforms stuck in interminable union negotiations, we’re still waiting for Superman. But what has the Iron Chancellor accomplished so far? Ironically, her best work has been in what she set out not to do: There may not be a revolutionary union contract in place yet, or a bold new educational vision, but the bureaucracy sure runs better than it used to.
‘We Only Reward Success’
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|4.7.10 @ 12:32PM|#
Sage, RC Dean, Warty...friends of Tall Dave and other apologist for blowing up makeshift ambulances. Lets take all your excuses and say they are legit. Is it now cool for the Pentagon to use taxpayer dolalrs and 4th amendment nullification methods approved for getting "terrorist" to wiretap/stalk/harass the people who work at wikileaks?
Stasi = Pentagon
It seems to me that fog of war and all is to be expected...it is silly to expect anything other than this type of violence to come out of war...however the Pentagon is guilty of Stasi like unamerican behavior ...they deserve strong condemnation if not court martial and treason charges.
7|4.7.10 @ 12:41PM|#
I believe you took a wrong turn at Crazyville.
|4.7.10 @ 12:51PM|#
I believe he is confusing the school thread with some other thread from yesterday.
Let it go, man.
DADIODADDY|4.7.10 @ 12:56PM|#
must have taken a left at Asshole Junction and gone north on the Hershey Highway...
Jimmy 'Crack' Corn|4.7.10 @ 3:40PM|#
Me too.
|4.7.10 @ 1:22PM|#
however the Pentagon is guilty of Stasi like unamerican behavior
But but but...
Obama is in charge now!
|4.7.10 @ 3:42PM|#
WTF?
|4.7.10 @ 5:52PM|#
Oh no!... you took a red pill instead of the blue one.
Rob Paxon|4.7.10 @ 7:42PM|#
Why don't you keep your trolling limited to where is relevant, such as the actual thread on this matter. Whichever side of the fence someone may fall in regarding the action (and it's a pretty damn grey area), this is a piss in the pot of what has happened to Iraqis as a result of this war and its resultant occupational conflict. The issue is the war, not some singular murky incident.
People like you are completely insufferable, narrowing in on specific, grey, ultimately inconsequential issues just for the sake of creating disagreement with those whom (mostly all) agree with you on the IMPORTANT over-arching matter. And then tying in this wikileaks thing, as if this place is littered with wiretap-loving police statists. And as if it has bearing on support for against the war... or one's thoughts on the specific incident. Just take a fucking hike.
Steve Nash Equilibrium|4.7.10 @ 12:47PM|#
Non sequitur much?
mr simple|4.7.10 @ 12:59PM|#
Anyway, Nice article. It amazes me, when I talk to teachers, how quickly burnt out they get about trying to reach kids and switch into more of a survival mode. They all claim the problem is too little pay and funding, like they would actually teach better if they got paid more. Then I present them with the figures on educational spending, national and local, and they just look at me confused and say "I hadn't heard that before."
dakotian|4.7.10 @ 3:58PM|#
I was surprised a while back when I looked at the numbers. In some instances there seems to be a direct correlation between quality of schools and money spent. Southern states spend less on schools and have poorer results. But if you look at the numbers, the District of Columbia is high on the list of spending per student. So by "throw money at the problem logic" D.C. should have great schools.
Kroneborge|4.7.10 @ 1:23PM|#
Apparently my post was marked as spam, let me type a bit more.
Great article !
Jordan|4.7.10 @ 1:45PM|#
Great work, Katherine!
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Letter From the National Association of Secondary School … | Educational West Virgini links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
|4.7.10 @ 2:04PM|#
In California the Teachers Union spends $20 million a year to maintain the status quo, and their power. Some 50% of all education jobs in the state are held by non-teachers -- the state is being crushed under the weight if useless educrats and paper pushers who don't ever set foot inside a classroom.
A is Awesome|4.7.10 @ 2:13PM|#
I like it, let's institute that system everywhere.
|4.7.10 @ 2:28PM|#
88, are the custodians (janitors), grounds and maintenance people and bus drivers included in your 50% count?
Not quibbling with you about the true "useless educrats and paper pushers" but
|4.7.10 @ 2:29PM|#
...there are a lot of school system employees who are neither teachers nor administrators.
A is Awesome|4.7.10 @ 2:12PM|#
Paying teachers MORE for Performing better and firing the bad ones? HETHEN!
|4.7.10 @ 6:34PM|#
A IS awesome, but apparently he doesn't show up to work sometimes.
|4.7.10 @ 6:38PM|#
There's evidence that merit based pay doesn't work in education: http://www.overcomingbias.com/.....ching.html
However, I haven't seen all the data. One problem with the results, I suspect, is that it's being tested in the monopolized public schools, which would likely lead to massive grade inflation.
Jimmy 'Crack' Corn|4.7.10 @ 3:19PM|#
"...reflecting the District’s 83 percent black student population."
Is there any correlation between the above figure and the fact that students from the DC area are the worst performing in the nation? Is this question the most non-politically correct on this website?
Is this racism, or is this just a fact? Does the "African American' culture produce the worst students in the nation, or is there someone or something else this can be blamed on? The liberals like Tony and Chad will of course always blame someone other than the community itself, but will we look at the harder questions here?
|4.8.10 @ 12:58PM|#
Its probably not politically correct but I think its a valid question. Sensitive types might respond negatively.
I think culture certainly has something to do with it. Its not that they're less smart, but I think the black culture de-emphasizes education.
|10.13.10 @ 11:52AM|#
I doubt that the 'African American' culture is the 'foundaton' for these results but I do think that the culture of 'entitlements' might well exert a significant influence because where entitlements prevail the quality of accomplishment is usually lacking.
If you were entitled to food, shelter, clothing, phone service, transportation, health care, etc., and then someone came along and told you you had to *work* for your education you'd certainly rebel - and thus we have the situation in the Big City schools - DC included.
A lurker|4.7.10 @ 3:33PM|#
Just want to say I think this is a great article. Writing like this makes the print subscription more than worth it.
A lurker|4.7.10 @ 3:33PM|#
Just want to say I think this is a great article. Writing like this makes the print subscription more than worth it.
A lurker|4.7.10 @ 3:35PM|#
Apparently its so good I had to post that twice...
Pingback| 4.7.10 @ 3:39PM
Last Chance for School Reform – Reason Magazine links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 4.7.10 @ 3:39PM
Last Chance for School Reform – Reason Magazine links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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|4.7.10 @ 6:56PM|#
The government at all levels is the problem, not the source of reform. Who decided that teachers ought to have degrees in "education" instead of their subject? Who decided that children ought to be encouraged to wonder if they are boys or are girls, despite the evidence of anatomy? Who decided that American History was to be taught with only the bad things in the course, not including any of the good? Who decided to take the hard parts out of the cirruculum, generally? It wasn't the parents. You know that the movers and shakers in this country don't send their kids to those schools; don't you? What does that tell you? Why should your kids got there?
Get government out of it. Start your own schools, your own textbooks, your own teachers. Teach your own kids, if nothing else. Stop thinking that the people who have been making kids stupid and murderous for the last 30 + years are going to do anything different, just because you give them more power and more money. Parents, take control and kick the politicians, the education establishment and the unions out of the business of pretending to teach your kids.
Pingback| 4.7.10 @ 7:42PM
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|4.7.10 @ 8:21PM|#
I hate to say it, but I don't trust Michelle Rhee. Giving someone that level of unlimited power is still a recipe for disaster. I said a year ago, before the Rhee minor-controversies. I say it again today.
|4.7.10 @ 8:24PM|#
also my no-longer-libertarian ex-girlfriend seems to get her panties all wet over Rhee. I think it's beacuse like Rhee, she did the whole silly teach for america thing.
|4.8.10 @ 1:02PM|#
I disagree, one of the biggest problems with education is bureaucracy. There are too many people involved.
I don't think she's trying to consolidate power, rather to reduce bureaucracy and give the people in direct contact with children more power over the classroom.
Pingback| 4.7.10 @ 8:56PM
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Chad|4.7.10 @ 9:18PM|#
I can't fathom why it costs over $14k per kid to education them.
I could cover my salary and benefits AND have 40k left over for overhead, simply by teaching ten kids all day than I make as a PhD chemist. wtf?
Jimmy 'Crack' Corn|4.7.10 @ 11:28PM|#
Here is Chad again, gratuitously mentioning his PhD...
Pingback| 4.7.10 @ 10:42PM
Greenwich Roundup: Putting Connecticut Back To Work | Educational Connecticut links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Some Guy|4.7.10 @ 11:21PM|#
In his January State of the Union address, he said, “The idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success.”
Now just think of how awesome it would be if he wasn't lying out his ass. Not only for schools, but banks, tyrants that we put into power in various countries, etc.
Pingback| 4.8.10 @ 12:14AM
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Imp|4.8.10 @ 5:57AM|#
The problem with tying teacher pay to merit is that merit often means "how well students do on standarized tests." But those tests are bullshit and are designed by governmental, idiotic-educationcrats. They serve to distract kids from any meaningful learning. So, paying teachers based on who has a greater percentage of kids passing these tests, means that teachers who spend more time teaching to a test that measures nothing meaningful will be higher paid than teachers who are actually attending to developmental knowledge and skills as well as individual needs.
|4.8.10 @ 6:39AM|#
+1
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Wegie|4.8.10 @ 9:26AM|#
More money will be thrown...nothing good will happen.
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|4.8.10 @ 7:29PM|#
Maybe they can come to Florida and help our clueless lawmakers with their idea of education reform. They think alienating educators is their best tactic. Hmmm, a GOOD plan for getting rid of bad teachers..how novel is that!
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|4.12.10 @ 6:25PM|#
The article says: "In D.C. today, 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is based on student outcomes. In any other industry, this standard would be absurdly low, like basing only 50 percent of a salesman’s performance review on how many units he sells."
But in what other industry does the "employee" only have control of the "product" for about 20% of the time? (8 hours a day for 180 days in the school year, versus 24 hours a day 365 days a year) And then the remaining 80% of the time the "product" may be struggling with poverty, abuse, learning disability, or simply indifference. The largest indicator of student success is parental involvement.
By all means, get rid of poor teachers--and I've seen many poor teachers continue to "work" year in and year out. But rating teacher performance on student outcomes is misguided at best--especially since the "best" teachers in the "best" schools (ones that are perceptive enough to actually recognize and adapt to the diverse needs of their students) tend to get assigned the most difficult students. This article does nothing to address the very complex issue of what makes the best environment for student success. No, money won't help that much. Yes, getting rid of poor teachers will help some. But the biggest success will only come from the home. Everything else is just a band-aid on a bullet hole.
Pingback| 4.12.10 @ 8:53PM
RSS agregator » Blog Archive » Teachers Unions Causing Problems links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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All schools need to be reformed. They need to focus on more "real world" subjects and promote kids to think on there own.
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|1.23.12 @ 2:33PM|#
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xiaoyang|1.24.12 @ 9:12AM|#
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sd|1.25.12 @ 4:04AM|#
sd
Tom|3.28.12 @ 11:33AM|#
As you say, Washington's case is extreme, but in general we greatly undervalue our teachers.