Rhee, DC Teachers, Reach Compromise

I had hoped that in a showdown between DC school boss Michelle Rhee, the nation’s highest profile education reformer, and Randi Weingarten (picture), president of the American Federation of Teachers, national parent organization of the DC teachers union, reform might win out. Education is so important. But the reality seems so different, after the contract “compromise” Rhee reached with the teachers union April 6, three days before this blog highlighted Rhee’s struggle over teacher quality. (I’m embarrassed I missed the news.)

Here’s why reform lost:

1. Politics forced Rhee to settle. Rhee’s most important supporter, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, is facing a tough fight for re-election Rhee’s war on teachers was making that much tougher. Rhee had to get off the front pages.

2. Rhee offered teachers 20% raises with no real changes, or 45% raises with big changes. The teachers chose 21% raises and little change.

3. Rhee blows $65 million in private funds, from the Walton Family and three other foundations, to pay for a settlement that leaves bad teachers largely in place.

4. Rhee gives up all this for what? She gets a voluntary program that allows participating teachers to earn more money if they are able to boost student performance, and she gets to make performance, not seniority, the top factor in deciding who goes, when lack of funds or low enrollment create excess teachers.

5. Education specialist Larry Cuban of Stanford thinks Michelle Rhee may be gone by next year even if Fenty is re-elected, and if she goes, teachers will quickly roll back her main accomplishment, a new teacher evaluation system.