We all would like to believe in miracles.
There aren’t many, especially with reference to schools that miraculously “turn around” in one year.
It is comforting to believe that a school can change from the worst to the best almost overnight. It is a made-for-Hollywood scenario.
Last night at the Democratic convention, Governor Deval Patrick talked about the one-year turnaround of a school named Orchard Gardens.
Gary Rubinstein checked and learned that 80% of the teachers were fired. Then he went to the Massachusetts Department of Education website. Not exactly one of the best schools in the state.
Why do so many politicians think that the best way to fix a school is to fire almost everyone (or everyone) and start over? Wouldn’t it be more productive to help the school, add resources where needed, remove those who are truly incompetent, do whatever it takes to make the school work well for its students? Why is mass firing the preferred solution?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
That’s a good question. Why couldn’t the current staff turn around the school on their own??
Patrick dumbed down education in Mass. We know that because the Race to the Top money was more important than quality academic standards.
However my question to those who were fired, why on earth did you give them the opportunity to take over your school?
MOM, why are you blaming the victims, the teachers? That’s like blaming the victim of a mugging for being mugged. Should the teachers have demonstrated or gone on strike? How the heck did the teachers give them the opportunity to take over their school? The teachers are not administrators, they are not in control of the schools or the purse strings. Your comment makes no sense.
I mean former staff, not current staff
But you didn’t answer the question. What were the former teachers supposed to DO? We are in a society that, at the moment, considers teachers to be the “bad guys.” If the teachers would have protested, the media and government officials would have brushed if off and said, “The teachers are just doing this because they want their jobs. They’re just greedy and selfish. They don’t care about kids.” That’s what teachers are told every time we protest something that is damaging to kids and education.
How do you fight that?
Thank you for insight into what is increasingly, merely Kabuki theater. I admired his passion and wondered if he was the real deal, sadly, he’s a spinmeister too. Apparently, facts have no place in the Democrat’s campaign either.
Don’t worry anyone, I am “sure” CNN and Anderson Cooper will fact check it and expose the fraud. They again had Rhee on television live yesterday to promote the movie and gave her about 5 minutes of promotion. The anchor and Rhee made certain to point out that Jeb Bush says that Obama and Romney are basically in full agreement for the future of education on the same page with her. Of course, CNN promotes her as America’s foremost educator. If they can’t fact check their own people and they have sold out, why are they trusted to keep anyone honest anymore?
Michelle Rhee is a regular contributor to the Huffingtonpost.com. She’s the go-to person on education issues. Very, very disappointing. She just keeps gaining more power, more influence and gets far too much air time. But then she has the blessings of the billionaire boys’ club(s).
So if 80% of the teachers are fired and replaced, what about the students? How many of them stay in a “turnaround” school? I mean, I’m not even an educator, but even I could “turn around” a school if I could get rid of all of the problem students and replace them with high achieving students.
Attacks on teachers are of a piece with attacks on labor overall. Median income (adjusted for inflation) in the US has been stagnant or declining for almost forty years, and now teachers must face the lash of neoliberal economics: cutbacks, privatization, outsourcing.
It’s all for the children, of course, until they grow up and face the same bleak landscape.
Sometimes I think we are too meek. Every certified teacher and administrator jumped through every state required hoop, took every required test, paid every fee, took all the required coursework to obtain and maintain the credentials that they said we needed to be “highly qualified” educators. Now, in large numbers, we are arbitrarily ineffective? It feels quite a bit like we have been victiims of fraud. Perhaps there is a legal remedy? At the very least, we should get the vast amounts of money we invested in our educations returned to us!!!
Legal remedy? I plan on using age discrimination if they decide to “non renew” me. They’re setting the stage for VAM in Missouri for next year. Sorry, but that ain’t going to cut it for me
Like many other teachers, I have been protesting like crazy. The problem is, eventually the powers that be will get sick of me and I will lose my job. I am the main wage earner for my family. A lot of us have to be meek in order to keep our jobs.
When the reformers are held to their own standard, they will squirm, they will make exceptions, and then let the legal wolves loose on them. I’m in agreement with Duane on this one, I’ll invite and participate in the lawsuits. The lawyers may be the only people ruthless enough to make a profit on the profiteers. I won’t begrudge them in this instance. To the legal barricades!
“Wouldn’t it be more productive to help the school, add resources where needed, remove those who are truly incompetent, do whatever it takes to make the school work well for its students? Why is mass firing the preferred solution?”
This is re-formese for “out-sourcing to help the bottom line and line the pockets of opportunists.” Everyone knows that successful and empowered underlings are difficult to control and may cost you your fortune.
Like most turnarounds, this was a school that had been struggling for years. They were designated a turnaround and immediately got substantial extra funding. The principal doesn’t expect the same sorts of growth on test scores next year since they won’t be getting the funding that allowed an extended after school program, but he got his new teachers “who know how to use data…” I wonder if they will be using VAM to evaluate their teachers.