In Phila. talk, school reformer Rhee targets seniority
Michelle Rhee, the former head of public schools in the District of Columbia, urged young teachers Thursday in Philadelphia to back legislation that would end layoffs based on seniority.
Michelle Rhee, the former head of public schools in the District of Columbia, urged young teachers Thursday in Philadelphia to back legislation that would end layoffs based on seniority.
Rhee, who was chancellor in Washington from 2007 to 2010, said the "last in, first out" law in Pennsylvania should be replaced by a system that preserves jobs for the best-rated teachers.
She addressed teachers and others in a packed library at Simon Gratz High School, now a Mastery Charter school, and bristled at assertions that she was antiunion.
"I'm not about bringing unions down," Rhee said, adding that she supported collective bargaining.
She noted that George Parker, the former head of the teachers' union in Washington, had joined her new advocacy group, StudentsFirst, a nonprofit aimed at changing education policies and practices to benefit students.
Two members of the audience, most of whom were very supportive of Rhee, questioned why she chose the layoff issue as a rallying point.
"It is a timely issue," she said, referring to budget cuts and layoffs in school districts around the country, including Philadelphia.
Rhee highlighted legislation pending in the state House and Senate that would require districts to conduct layoffs based on teacher performance, not seniority.
She also noted that she was invited to speak on the issue in Philadelphia, whereas she has addressed other issues elsewhere. She said StudentsFirst advocates 35 issues dealing with public-school education.
Rhee said changing the law would not only keep the best teachers, but also save jobs, because the newest teachers are usually the lowest paid, so more layoffs are required to meet budget-cutting goals.
Layoffs of newer teachers also disproportionately impact the lowest-performing and most-challenged schools, where many young teachers are assigned.
Several people who lost their jobs with the Philadelphia School District because of low seniority joined Rhee to tell their stories.
Kristen Brown, 28, recalled that she had gone to her first day of work with another new teacher and there was a sign-in sheet. She didn't think anything of it.
"I signed in a line below him," she said. The fact her name was a line below meant, technically, that she had less seniority, she said.
Brown was laid off and her colleague was spared because of the order of their names, she said.
Jake Whitman, 24, recalled working at a high school in North Philadelphia. He said he knew layoffs were coming and for various reasons decided to resign.
He said more than 70 percent of the teachers at the high school lost their positions.
Rhee said the seniority system should be replaced by one that weighs student achievement, in-class evaluations by other instructors or outside experts, performance of the school overall, and a teacher's other contributions to the school, such as coaching teams.
She also is a proponent of firing teachers for poor performance and rewarding good teachers with salary increases and bonuses.
Rhee had a rocky tenure in Washington, often clashing with politicians and activists.
She stepped down after Mayor Adrian Fenty lost his bid for reelection. That election was regarded as a referendum on Rhee.
She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in the acclaimed documentary film on public education, Waiting for "Superman."
She served on the transition team of Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott and has expressed support for Gov. Christie in New Jersey.
Her group's website is studentsfirst.org.
