Hundreds of D.C. teachers will pack the Kennedy Center on Monday night for the school system’s second-annual gala for “highly effective” educators.
Yes, there’s a reason this reporter showed up to work in prom-casual attire.
At “A Standing Ovation for D.C. Teachers,” the 660 teachers who received top ratings on their evaluations last school year will be celebrated to the tune of Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend, as well as philanthropists and athletes.
Mayor Vincent Gray and Chancellor Kaya Henderson will also be front and center to present honors.
A select group of teachers and principals will receive awards for excellence, as will 20 recipients of the Rubenstein Award — who also get a cool $5,000.
“I’m thrilled for Standing Ovation — it really is one of the best nights of the year,” said Jason Kamras, chief of human capital for D.C. Public Schools. “We get to say a huge thank you to our best educators, and we’re including six principals this time around. It’s important to highlight the school leaders making remarkable improvements.”
The lavish bonuses and salary increases available to top teachers under Impact come from private donors solicited by the D.C. Public Education Fund, a nonprofit set up in the Rhee-Fenty era to fund the reforms.
To accept the bonuses and raises, educators had to give up a little bit of the job security provided to them by their Washington Teachers’ Union membership. But 4 out of 5 of teachers eligible for salary increases accepted them, as did 70 percent up for bonuses.
Cate Swinburn, executive director of the D.C. Public Education Fund, said the community’s response to Standing Ovation was overwhelming in its second year.
“We just found out that we have so many people coming that we have to close off ticket sales, lest the fire marshal cut off the post-reception,” Swinburn said.
The maximum capacity for the Kennedy Center reception is 1,800; as of Friday, more than 1,700 has rsvp’d.
Shira Fishman, the D.C. Teacher of the Year, said she was excited for the gala. “It’ll be cool,” she said. “It’s really nice. I remember last year being like, ‘I definitely feel appreciated.’ ”
