George Parker put his name on the dotted line. And thus, a city which previously paid, in the words of the Washington Post, “lip service” to teacher quality put its money where its mouth is. Or rather, Chancellor Michelle Rhee did, when she fired 165 teachers for ineffectiveness (plus 76 for licensure issues) and put another 700 or so on notice for being “minimally effective.” That rating comes from D.C.’s new teacher evaluation system, IMPACT, the use of which the union agreed in the newly ratified contract. Perhaps the union’s promise to file a grievance is just for show—or maybe not—but it can’t seriously have thought that Rhee was bluffing. WaPo has it exactly right when it observes that “a better use of [the union’s] time might be to work with Ms. Rhee to improve the performance of the 737 teachers in danger of losing their jobs next year.”
"Giving lousy teachers the boot," by William McGurn, Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2010
"Rhee dismisses 241 D.C. teachers; union vows to contest firings," by Bill Turque, Washington Post, July 24, 2010
“Opinion: The D.C. teacher firings,” Washington Post, July 25, 2010