DC Teachers Approve Groundbreaking Contract

Last week, Washington, DC teachers approved a groundbreaking contract by a stunning 80% to 20% margin. The contract is innovative by any number of criteria. In fact, it turns the standard teacher contract on its head.

In a Sunday, June 13, 2010 New York Daily News editorial, Washington, DC school chancellor Michelle Rhee summarized the list of creative contract provisions:

Pay for performance: “Paid for with private money, and voluntary for teachers,” the pay for performance system “recognizes and rewards our most highly effective teachers for their individual accomplishments in raising student achievement.”

Layoff provisions: “When a school undergoes a budget reduction and a layoff is necessary, that decision is made based on performance, not seniority.”

Teacher placement: “A teacher cannot be placed at a school unless the teacher and the school principal agree.” Teachers “who cannot find a ‘mutual consent placement’ … are moved out of the system.”

Elimination of tenure: Teachers rated as ‘ineffective’ are “immediately terminated from the system.” Those rated ‘minimally effective’ have their pay frozen and after two years are terminated.

According to Rhee, “in exchange for these reforms, teachers are receiving unprecedented levels of support, resources, professional development, voice in decision-making and pay – an increase of 20% over previous salary levels (with additional bonuses making it possible to make twice as much).”