Thanks to G.F. Brandenburg for pointing me to this important post about teacher attrition rates in D.C. by Valerie Jablow.
D.C., lest we forget, is one of the epicenters of corporate reform. In 2007, D.C. established mayoral control of the schools. Mayor Adrian Fenty hired Michelle Rhee and gave her full authority to remake the schools. Rhee stayed until Fenty was defeated at the next election in 2011 (largely because of Rhee), and Rhee’s deputy Kaya Henderson was put in charge. Henderson stepped down and was replaced by another reform cadre, Antwan Wilson. So, D.C. has been in the hands of the privatizers for a full decade.
The Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the Walton Foundation all invested millions in Rhee.
Wendy Kopp, in her last ghostwritten book, pointed to D.C., New York City, and New Orleans as examples of TFA success. D.C. today is the shining star of the reformers.
But teachers don’t last long. They sign up and they leave in startling numbers. Why don’t they stay if the system has had the benefit of reform for ten years?
She writes about D.C.’S dirty little secret. It turns out that reformers don’t know how to create good schools, whether public or charter:
“Quick: Did you hear about the DC public school that lost more than half its teachers after the start of school year 2015-16?
“No, I am not talking about DCPS’s Ballou high school–which, as the Post recently reported, lost 28% of its teachers this just-completed school year.
“Rather, I am talking about a whole host of DC charter schools with high teacher attrition rates in the previous school year, like Achievement Preparatory Academy (57.8% teacher attrition rate) and Friendship’s Tech Prep (Tech Prep Middle, 63%; Tech Prep HS, 52%) and KIPP’s AIM (63%), Lead (58%), and WILL schools (62%)–not to mention Perry Street Prep (62.5%), SEED (52.6%), and Washington Global (60%). Then there are a few charter schools whose reported attrition rates I find difficult to believe and that I hope were mis-reported teacher retention rates: Inspired (70.3%) and Richard Wright (87%). The annual reports indicated that the teacher attrition was determined after the start of the school year.
“Hmm: Didn’t hear about those?”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So-called education reform: Always Winning!
Suppose nobody showed up? I think the tech industry would love that.
yes; the tech industry has done much to create this coming world where teachers will be non-essential
If a school has 87% attrition, (or even 60%, like KIPP AIM), that’s not an educational institution. It’s the educational equivalent of a fast food joint.
Nobody can defend that — other than reformers such as Teach For American founder and leader Wendy Kopp, who celebrated the the new realtiy in D.C.’s schools in her latest book and who who claims schools with such astronomical attrition work just fine. Her inexperienced TFA Corps Members can deliver the highest quality education — even with minimal training, and even though leave after only two years in the classroom.
Interestingly however, Wendy, as with all her wealthy corporate reformer allies, sends her own kids to a rich kids’ private school with no teacher attrition, or very minimal.
For Wendy’s own kids … not so great.
For “other people’s kids'” … just fine.
Could you imagine if, say, Campbell Brown brought her kids back to start the school year at Heschel — the rich kids’ private school where they attend — only to discover that
60- 87% of the Heschel’s teachers were gone. When asked what caliber of teachers their $50,000 /year-per-child tuition is going to buy the Brown-Senor family, a Heschel administrator meets with Campbell and responds:
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR:
“Yeah, Ms. Brown-Senor, we know that the Heschel teaching staff has mostly turned over. … * Why? * .. Well, you know … a lot of ’em quit … *A lot of ’em we canned…**
“But hey, don’t you worry! We just hired over 100 teachers from this really awesome group: * *Teach For America. * *Now, I know what some of the other parents have been gossiping about. That these novice TFA’s have ZERO teaching experience, having never taught a day in their lives, and they have no degrees in education, nor have they apprenticed as student teachers. * In fact, they majored in subjects other than teaching-slash-education, and that they have only just finished a five-week summer training, but hey, we’re sure they’re gonna be just great!”*
I ran into a teacher several years ago. She had left teaching in MD public schools for a DC public school position as there was a new salary increase implemented. She had been in her new position for maybe half a year and said that it was an absolute bureaucratic nightmare working there. She mentioned that earning what they had promised was virtually impossible over the long haul. Not sure if this had to do with a “planned impossible” merit pay system or with dwindling corporate funding??? Meanwhile, I remember reading about Rhee wanting to fund large salary increases using corporate-backed funding from the likes of the Arnold family and the Broads. The Chief Financial Officer at the time had a problem with this and actually went as far as to say it might be illegal. I am not sure if he was fired or resigned but his name was Gandhi – don’t think he is still the Chief Financial Officer of DC. Anyhow, wondering if the mass exodus has to do with horrible working conditions combined with the impossibility of receiving the promised “greatly increased” salaries???