The Washington Examiner
LETTER: Charter schools already attract top-notch teachers
By Robert Cane
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Re: "Importing teachers in the District of Columbia," Nov. 10
Barbara Hollingsworth correctly says that urban school districts need to empower schools to hire high quality teachers. However, D.C. public charter schools - which educate 38 percent of the District's public school children - already have that freedom, and use it to the lasting benefit of their nearly 28,000 students.
While some commentators focus on public charter schools' ability to fire underperforming teachers, a balanced debate would also highlight their flexibility to attract and retain teachers who provide high-quality instruction. For example, two-thirds of teachers at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School have worked there for three years or more, despite the fact that the school is only eight years old and has added one grade level each year that it has been open. The ability to hire and reward high-quality educators has helped make TMA the highest-performing nonselective high school in D.C.
Robert Cane
Executive director
Friends of Choice in Urban Schools