My Beauty Best Teacher

Despite what Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's termination letters stated that DC teachers were evaluated by their local school principal, some DC teachers were fired without ever being evaluated as we heard on WJLA, channel 7 yesterday on the 5 p.m. news.

When Rhee signed off on the terminations of 21 teachers @ Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) given the standardized test scores as reported on The WaPo site- it leaves me wondering whether Principal Maria Tukeva ever cheated in some back room. How is it that the entire middle school teaching staff at CHEC were all ineffective ? Based on The Washington Post's 'Fixing DC Schools' report on line, there were only approximately 32 teachers in total at the middle school level.

How is that the entire special education department at Ludlow Taylor elementary school where Carolyn Cobbs is principal were terminated ? Was the whole department ineffective ? Stories like these and many others defy probability and reason and suggest to me that it's not about removing ineffective teachers.

Some of us are determined to ensure that due process of law occurs. A committee is being formed now to secure representation for many of our DC teachers who have been wronged. We are in search of of an experienced labor attorney willing to represent a class of DC teachers pro bono.

If you can help in any way, please contact: savedcteachers@gmail.com

(posted by The Washington Teacher)Video courtesy of wjla.com

Dee Does the District responds: "Thank you, but this issue is bigger than just me. There are six other teachers that were terminated from Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School by Carolyn Cobbs (Principal). These individuals range from probationary teachers to veterans in the District. One teacher in particular was told her job was safe, only to receive a certified letter stating her termination yesterday. I want others to know that they are not alone in this! We need to band together and fight for ourselves and fight for the current and future teachers of the District. What happened to us is not right and it is not fair and although this will be a long, arduous task, we will win this."

250 DC Teachers Terminated As Reported by The WaPo
No official confirmation from Chancellor Rhee's office

I decided to post the story of Dee's termination, a fellow education blogger right here in DC. Dee features the story of her own termination on her blog @ Dee Does The District

This one's for you Dee ! It ain't over till its over. The Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) has pending litigation with respect to last year's probationary teachers who were terminated unfairly. One of the first cases involving a probationary teacher had over 30 contractual violations for starters. By the way, last years terminated probationary teachers had meets and exceeds expectations performance evaluations.

Here's what Union Prez Parker said in today's Post article by Bill Turque: "Parker said the union disagrees with the school system about the status of probationary teachers. The union contends that if a teacher on probation receives a satisfactory evaluation, he or she should be hired permanently. Last year's firings of probationary teachers are the subject of a court fight, and Parker said he intends to pursue a similar remedy this year. "

I Was Terminated by Dee Does The District

"I was terminated yesterday."

Just two quick thoughts before I go to bed for the evening:
1. Michelle Rhee has acknowledged how terrible she was as a first-year teacher; this is hardly different for the majority of of first- and second-year teachers (traditional or alt-cert) as we are all trying to navigate our classrooms and our schools. But according to her, she was able to come back for two more years and make significant gains -- why aren't all of the probationary teachers who were terminated allowed to make the same progress after a rough (or smooth...) first year in the classroom?

2. Rhee has also acknowledged that the PPEP form is a bad document that allows for administrators to arbitrarily put down negative scores based on whims, fancies, and personal vendettas. This acknowledgement has been translated into a new evaluation system for the upcoming school year that will bring in impartial, expert teachers to ensure fairness in the process -- we are in fact, dealing with people's careers and lives here. Alas, despite recognizing the inherent flaws in the process, a single administrator was still allowed to make the final ruling on a teacher's employment status. It seems that these two things are in direct conflict with one another.

No, I'm not mad or upset with Rhee -- I'm just disappointed that she failed to terminate the right person. " (Courtesy of Dee Does the District) quote courtesy of The Washington Post.

Quote from a CHEC teacher: " If so many probationary teachers are being terminated ... what does that say about those hiring them and the supposed amazing pool of people available for hire? So many questions, so little answers, but plenty of finger pointing towards the teachers... including unfortunately, many good ones."

These updates are being provided to you in real-time. Because so many teachers have been fired, I am having to stay near to my computer and phone as I report what's happening on our educational landscape. Stay tuned for updates ! As I receive additional updates, I will post information.

Columbia Heights Education Campus (updates)

21 DC Teachers Terminated
Principal Takeva gives the boot to her middle school teachers @ CHEC

I just received this update. There have been 21 DC teachers fired from the Columbia Heights Education Campus where Maria Tukeva is the principal. This has just been confirmed. Most of the terminated teachers are probationary teachers. As emails are coming in, I will continue to provide you updates .Terminations of this many teachers at one school are unprecedented.

Ludlow Taylor Elementary School

7 DC Teachers Terminated
Rhee fires 7 DC teachers at Ludlow Taylor elementary school @ 659 G St. NE where Carolyn Cobbs is the principal. Our own fellow education blogger Dee Does DC was terminated too. The special education department at Ludlow Taylor was wiped out by Principal Cobbs.

Garfield Elementary School

1 DC Teacher Terminated
Rhee fires 1 DC teacher at Garfield elementary school @ 2435 Alabama Ave SE where Tammy Thomas is the principal and one of the DC departing (resigning) principals. ( The Washington Teacher).

15 DC Teacher Terminations @ CHEC Now Reported

Read it and weep. This just came in. There are now fifteen (15) confirmed DC teacher terminations at Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) located on 16th Street in D.C. It is reported that 13 of these terminations were probationary teachers, 1 teacher was as a result of a 90-day plan termination, and 1 not yet known. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).

Updated news @ 10 p.m. with post from a terminated teacher

Teacher Firings up to 12 at CHEC, Mostly Probationary Teachers

Did you know that some DC Teachers have started receiving notices of terminations today ? These notices have been sent out to some teachers via email. Some teachers were given a copy of their termination letter in hand mid-day signed personally by Michelle Rhee .

Here's what two DC teachers from Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) had to say about today's terminations:

"I am one of the probationary teachers who was terminated at CHEC today. My frustration at the situation does not, as many of you suggest, have to do with Michelle Rhee or her mission. Instead, my frustration is focused entirely on the administration at CHEC, for the way that they are handling the firing process, and for the amount of truly amazing professionals they are terminating. One of you suggested in an earlier post that the probationary teachers who are being fired at CHEC (both DCTF and otherwise) are under performers, but this is not the case. The amount of extra work required of teachers at CHEC is unbelievable, and all of the people that I know who have been fired embrace that extra work because it will ultimately benefits students. There have been several terminations that I know of where teachers were not even placed on any sort of improvement plan. (I was not on any sort of a plan...no 90-day, no anything...). I just find the entire situation sickening, because the people at CHEC work extremely hard and receive this sort of treatment. All throughout the year, I felt under appreciated, unsupported, and unfairly treated. This termination just comes as the final straw. I do not want any of you to get the idea that the teachers who are being terminated at CHEC somehow deserve what they are getting because I can assure you, they do not. The work environment at that school is poisonous, and this is just the latest thing. May this just be a lesson to everyone that as educators, we need to stick together, support each other, and remember that we are ultimately all here for the kids. They are what kept me going all year, and they will continue to keep me going in the future. " Signed Terminated Teacher

Second quote from a teacher who still remains at CHEC :"This year at CHEC, there was an obvious shift in the way the administration "graded" the PPEP rubric and evaluated teachers. Teachers who "exceeded expectations" in the past were given "meets expectations" or "needs improvement" and the overall morale in the school was gravely effected by this seemingly arbitrary and change in rating teachers. To me, this sounds like pressure coming from powers higher above? This shift definitely created an US vs. THEM mentality in the school and I can't see how that will diffuse much after the way things have been handled. Many of us don't feel like we are being treated as PROFESSIONALS and we have a very diverse, talented, and caring staff. We have made great strides in the quality of the education being implemented due to the hard work of the great teachers (past and present) that have developed curriculum and challenged our students.

That being said, many teachers have been harassed, disrespected, unsupported, and pushed away due to unprofessional pressures from some of the administration. I find it very disheartening to see SO many of my fellow talented and hard working teachers leave my school each year (voluntarily and involuntarily). I am also VERY frustrated that each year the dramatic turnover results in retraining and reinvesting in new staff which also GREATLY effects the school's potential to grow and improve. When and how are the administrators evaluated? Is teacher retention considered in the way a school and administration is evaluated? If so many probationary teachers are being terminated at my school... what does that say about those hiring them and the supposed amazing pool of people available for hire? So many questions, so little answers, but plenty of finger pointing towards the teachers... including unfortunately, many good ones." Signed DC CHEC teacher