Chicago principals say no to Rahm's "merit pay" scheme

[proud2BlibKansan]

The mayor and his Broad Academy-trained CEO, J.C. Brizard, are trying to take a page from the Broad play book -- merit pay for principals.

But Rahm's divide-and-conquer strategies seem to be backfiring. I give him credit for one thing. He appears to have succeeded in doing what I thought couldn't be done -- uniting the city's teachers and principals against him and his top-down, corporate-style reform model.

First his attempted bribery of the city's elementary school teachers to g et them to abandon their union and surrender their own collective bargaining rights, was a dismal failure. Only 13 out of some 470 schools took the longer-school-day bait and that was before the threat of legal action forced the mayor to back down.

Now, his attempt to pay principals one-time bonuses on the basis of student test scores and their willingness to fire teachers, has been rejected, loudly and clearly by the Chicago Principals Assoc. Apart from the basic unfairness of such a plan, the sources of its funding are problematic. Like many of Rahm's reform schemes, this one is to be funded by private donations from a group of the mayor's wealthy pals, for whom the few million in pay bonuses is like tip-money that can be withdrawn or denied on a whim.

more . . . http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/2011/11/chicago-principals-say-no-to-rahms.html

[Starry Messenger]

1. k&r

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

2. Thank you! K&R

<<<<<<<<

[wakemewhenitsover]

3. K&R

That scheming slimeball.
:grr:

[Philosopher King]

4. Merit pay...? Doesn't he know that policy would discriminate against less competent principles?

[fasttense]

5. Merit pay is RepubliCON speak for kick backs to your buddies.

Some people here today are really watching too much FOX and can't seem to come up with anything but RepubliCON talking points.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Better tell Arne Duncan

He LOVES merit pay.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Yes, that seems to be pretty frequent these past few days, especially

among those who would see themselves as rulers in the Platonic Republic, if you take my meaning.

[Philosopher King]

14. I missed it--when did Rahm become a RepubliCON...?

Some people are more concerned with preserving the status-quo than educating young people.

Those who stand in the way of progress must be pushed aside by forward looking people who refuse to settle for the status quo.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-obama-education-2009mar11,0,335969.story

"It's time to start rewarding good teachers, stop making excuses for bad ones," Obama told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington. "From the moment students enter a school, the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents, it's the person standing at the front of the classroom."

"Despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we've let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short, and other nations outpace us," Obama said in his first speech on the subject as president. "What's at stake is nothing less than the American dream."

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. +1

[roguevalley]

16. it would be the worst thing in a line of worst things for ed. can't

tell you how bad this idea is. Rahm is a jackass. Lucky Chicago. Get him out next time.

[Chiquitita]

7. principals stand by teachers...

didn't he expect that? Unlike him and Arne Duncan they have been teachers themselves. Thanks for this!

[MichiganVote]

9. Rahm is a bully and not much else. None of these clowns understand education.

If they did, they would not approach any of these groups as they have.

[KoKo]

13. +1

[xchrom]

10. recommend

[Nevernose]

11. What irks me the MOST about so-called "merit pay?"

Is that it's been tried before. In some places it's been tried continously for decades and it still doesn't work. It does not lead to higher student achievement. We know this, and we know it empirically and scientifically, yet politicians who know less than nothing about education continue to shove crap like this down our throats in order to make cheap political points.

[tomp]

12. if politicians were paid by merit they would all starve.

fuck emmanuel and obama and duncan and holder and sebelius and all the rest.

and if so-called progressive democrats want my support they can separate themselves from the democratic party.