Apr 5 - Detroit News editorial: "Remove poor teachers to save Detroit schools"
Detroit Public Schools is facing the greatest challenge in its history, as thousands of students flee failing classrooms to find schools where their needs -- not teacher contracts or dysfunctional board politics -- come first.They cite Cerveny Middle School where the new principal replaced 60% of her staff. "To save their students and their district, Detroit public school leaders must retain the ability to make such staffing changes as needed -- and put their students' success ahead of everything else."
Soon the Detroit schools will have an important opportunity to turn around this trend. The district absolutely must take it.
The district and the Detroit Federation of Teachers have agreed to a short-term tryout period that allows schools that are restructuring to transfer or cut poor-performing union teachers.
In the coming weeks, the two parties will begin negotiating whether this provision should continue. With teacher quality among the most important factors in student achievement, the district must make sure it keeps this clause -- and work to expand it to other schools.
TT - but what of those thousands and thousands of children who were ill-served by poorly-performing union teachers? What are those children? Throwaways? Bad experiments in education? Union roadkill? Do none of those adults have shame for robbing children of precious years of learning and growing?
