UPDATED: 2:10 p.m. Friday
D.C. Public Schools laid off more than 400 employees on Friday, school officials said.
And 309 of those red slips were related to Impact, the controversial evaluation tool inaugurated last year under former Chancellor Michelle Rhee; 288 were axed for poor performance on the 2011 evaluation, while 21 more were released after failing to find placements in the school system.
Another 104 employees were terminated for “not complying with licensure requirements.”
“Quality teachers are the key to a quality education,” Mayor Vincent Gray said. “If we are to provide a world-class public education to the residents of the District of Columbia, we must have the most effective educators in the country.”
Teachers are rated from “minimally effective” to “highly effective” on Impact, developed by Chancellor Kaya Henderson when she was the deputy to Rhee.
Henderson said she was “committed to moving out our lowest performers” and elevate high-performing educators to best serve children of the District.
Of the fired teachers, 113 received “ineffective” ratings; 175 received “minimally effective” ratings for the second year; 21 had been excessed last year and not be placed; and 104 failed to meet license requirements.
The Washington Teachers’ Union has been contesting Impact in public forums – including court – because it bases 50 percent of teachers’ evaluations on students’ test score gains, among other reasons. Another large component of the evaluation is five classroom observations.
School officials reported that 663 teachers were rated “highly effective” on Impact, making them eligible for bonuses of up to $25,000. About 40 percent of teachers turned down those raises last year, because accepting the privately funded money comes with the string of accepting a little less job security.
Fifty-eight percent of teachers rated “minimally effective” last year improved their standing to “effective” or “highly effective” this year. DCPS touted professional development initiatives, including reliance on instructional coaches and master educators.
