"We're Set Up To Fail" Say DC School Workers

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

The hidden casualties of the Fenty administration’s controversial “IMPACT” school evaluation system rallied outside DC Public Schools headquarters for several hours Friday, protesting the “shady methods” used to assess their performance. “Para-professionals, clericals and even custodians now have five percent of their evaluations based on how much test scores increase in their schools – even though they have no direct control over how testing goals are met in the classroom,” AFSCME Local 2921 President Michael Flood told Union City. “That’s blatantly unfair and outrageous - we’re being set up to fail.” Rita Howard, a former DCPS employee, told Union City that even with her high qualifications and tenured experience, she was unfairly fired because of the failures of a “corrupt and mismanaged administration.” She added, “I’ve never worked for such a dysfunctional education system in my entire life.” Among other issues, the union says that record numbers of school workers city-wide are being forced to work out of classification without compensation; that highly qualified union members with tenure are being specifically targeted and fired by Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee; that many of the workers’ salaries are “so low that they qualify for welfare and social service programs”; and that the members have been working without a ratified contract for three years because of Rhee and Fenty’s “stalling tactics.” “The labor movement is the last line of defense for working families who are engaged in this war with Mayor Fenty and Michelle Rhee for the heart and soul of DC,” said Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams (l) in a rousing speech, “When the September election comes, that day will be our chance to tell them, ‘get the hell out of our city!’” – report/photos by Adam Wright