‘Multimedia message’
courtesy of ‘James Buck’
For many DC teachers, summer vacation may unfortunately turn into a permanent vacation. WAMU.org is reporting that a “sizable” number of DCPS teachers will be laid off in the coming days. The firings are part of the school system’s new IMPACT program, a tool designed to assess teacher performance. Using test scores, student growth and outside evaluations, teachers are rated on a 400-point scale. While high scores can lead to bonuses, low scores can prompt a pink slip. The hope is that this sort of reward and penalty system will eliminate ineffective educators and push teachers to strive for excellence. No word yet on how many teachers will be released.
One of the things to remember for the IMPACT program is that teachers who are being let go due to low performance will have had multiple low-rated evaluations, as well opportunities for retraining, professional development and assistance. It’s not just one rating that does it.