The Education Manifesto: Michelle Rhee and Adrian Fenty defend their approach

WSJ article link

Rhee and Fenty sum up their approach as Merit Pay for Teachers = Success. But on review of their whole strategy and execution, it really seems like getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people OFF the bus was what made the most difference school by school.

(I'd like to vote the idea of merit pay off the island. A teacher should be paid for the role -- and perform well or be let go. A teacher is either worth having on the staff, or isn't. No wonder teachers' unions are upset. No one should feel like they have to deal daily political fealty to a particular school administrator in order to be fully paid for their job.)

The other piece of the right-on wrong-off staffing strategy success was to "...allow principals to make the layoffs based on the quality, value and performance of their staffs." This kept the decision-making local to each school and its own leadership. Principals got to own their staffing decisions; staff got to be accountable to their principals and not to every governing member of the school district. Cutting down on the I have eight bosses effect can't but help.

Notes for the future school administration file...