NEWS
- Unions question proposed restrictions to D.C. teacher evaluations
- D.C. Public Schools chancellor: Charter schools grow from 'unresponsive'
Unions question proposed restrictions to D.C. teacher evaluations
Watchdog.org
By Moriah Costa
June 17, 2015
Teachers unions are questioning the transparency and due process of a measure to permanently exempt teacher evaluations from public records requests.
The unions are asking the D.C. Council to hold public hearings before a June 30 vote on the Budget Support Act. The act includes a provision to exempt teacher evaluations, observations, ratings and data collection from D.C. Freedom of Information Act requests.
Elizabeth Davis, president of the Washington Teachers Union, said passing the legislation is “sending a red flag to the D.C. community that they’re hiding information.”
The union has fought for data from teacher performance reports for the past year and most recently sued the city in the D.C. Superior Court after the school district refused to file a public records request, even with personal identifying information redacted.
Davis said the union wants to use the data to determine whether the teacher performance reports, called IMPACT, are effective.
“We need so much information to determine if this process is the process that should be used to determine teacher performance, especially if we are talking about equity issues and giving students access to highly effective teachers,” she said.
The D.C. Public Schools system has a high turnover rate for teachers, and a lack of access to the data makes it difficult to determine the reason, she said.
About 20 percent of teachers leave DCPS each year, according to data from budget analyst Mary Levy.
A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences found the level of teacher quality uneven across the city, and mayoral control has done little to improve the quality of education.
Some council members say the amendment applies only to charter schools, which don’t have the legal protections provided city employees — such as D.C. Public Schools teachers. Under the legal protections, personal records are exempt from public records requests.
Council member David Grosso, chairman of the education committee, told the Washington Post the bill would encourage charter schools to submit information to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Both traditional and charter schools are required to report teacher evaluations to comply with a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act.
The vote on the budget was originally scheduled for Tuesday.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the charter school explanation is “a red herring.”
“The real issue is there’s been this impact process and other instructional strategies that Washington, D.C. has undertaken for years, and the public has a right to know and the union has a right to know whether these things are working or not,” she said.
D.C. Public Schools chancellor: Charter schools grow from 'unresponsive' public schools
The Washington Examiner
By Jason Russell
June 15, 2015
An "unresponsive" public school district led to a strong charter school sector in Washington, D.C., according to Kaya Henderson, chancellor of D.C. Public Schools.
"Part of the reason why we have one of the most robust charter sectors in the country, and I think part of the reason why the charter sector here grew so quickly, is because for a long time the [D.C. Public Schools system] was just unresponsive," Henderson said today at The Atlantic Education Summit. "Families were demanding more, better and the system wasn't responding. And so alternatives were created." Henderson pointed out that 44 percent of D.C. public school students attend charter schools, a percentage that has held steady for the past four years.
Henderson's statement is in line with what pro-school choice education reformers have been saying for years: Competition makes all schools better, including traditional public schools. School choice holds public schools accountable for effectively educating students, since it empowers families to escape failing schools.
Most charter schools in Washington, D.C. are authorized under the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, which certifies 112 public charter schools in the city. The first D.C. charter school opened in 1996.
Henderson also expressed a desire for D.C. Public Schools to have the same kind of flexibility that charter schools get. "My desire is to have more flexibility. You can't say 'Charters are doing so well because they don't have to deal with X, Y, or Z,' and then expect me to do well when I have to deal with X, Y, or Z. So all I'm saying is if we've learned that there are certain flexibilities that enable schools to succeed, then we should give the traditional school system those flexibilities as well."
Henderson also said that the District is working hard to close achievement gaps, but emphasized that all student groups are improving. "All of our young people are actually seeing success," she said. "All of our young people are improving, it's just that the top is moving faster than the bottom."
Charter schools are publicly funded and do not charge tuition. Compared to traditional public schools, charter schools have more independence in their operations and curricula, which is why so many families find charter schools desirable.
Henderson has been chancellor of D.C. Public Schools since 2010.
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