For Immediate Release July 15, 2011

Contact: Fred Lewis 202.442.5919 (Desk)

DCPS Continues to Strengthen Workforce

School Staff Receive Results from IMPACT Evaluations; 663 Washington Teachers Union (WTU) Members Eligible for Bonuses Up to $25,000; 413 Employees Receive Separation Notices Based on Performance and Non-Compliance with Licensure Requirements

Today, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) notified teachers and school staff of their 2010-2011 IMPACT evaluation results, congratulating 663 WTU Members who earned the top rating of Highly Effective, and issuing separation notices to 309 other employees. The school system also notified 104 employees that they will be separated for not complying with licensure requirements.

DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson said todays actions are essential to improving the school system. Great teachers are critical to our success, she said. We are delighted to be able to shine a spotlight on our top performers, and we are thrilled by the improvements that so many of our educators made this year. We also remain committed to moving out our lowest performers in an effort to ensure that every child has access to an outstanding education.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray reiterated his support for Chancellor Henderson and the personnel decisions announced today. Quality teachers are the key to a quality education, said Mayor Gray, noting progress at the secondary level on the recently released results of the 2010-2011 DC CAS. If we are to provide a world-class public education to the residents of the District of Columbia, we must have the most effective educators in the country.

Introduced at the start of the 2009-2010 school year, IMPACT evaluates teacher performance based on measures of student achievement, instructional expertise, collaboration, and professionalism. IMPACT assesses other school-based staff on criteria specific to their jobs.

Each year, employees receive one of four IMPACT ratings: Highly Effective, Effective, Minimally Effective, or Ineffective.

RECOGNIZING AND REWARDING THE BEST 663 WTU Members were rated Highly Effective and are eligible for performance bonuses of up to $25,000. 290 WTU Members were rated Highly Effective for the second year in a row and are eligible for base salary increases of up to $20,000 in addition to annual bonuses of up to $25,000. All WTU Members rated Highly Effective will be honored in September at the secondannual A Standing Ovation for DC Teachers at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, sponsored by the D.C. Public Education Fund.

PROVIDING SUPPORT 58% of WTU Members who were rated Minimally Effective last year and who decided to remain in the school system improved to Effective or Highly Effective this year. Some of the professional development efforts that contributed to their growth include: o o o Frequent feedback provided through the IMPACT evaluation cycles; More than 150 instructional coaches and mentor teachers; and 45 master educators, who provided content-based feedback and guidance for improvement. Additional professional development efforts that will be available in 2011-2012 include: o o A $1 million video library highlighting the best practices of our top educators; Brand new curricular resources to support our teachers with the implementation of rigorous national standards; and o A redesigned, more intensive coaching model.

MOVING OUT LOW PERFORMERS DCPS has issued separation notices to 413 employees for the following reasons: 113 received Ineffective ratings; 175 received Minimally Effective ratings for the second year in a row;

21 completed their extra year placements (as a result of their being excessed a year ago) and were unable to find permanent positions in the school system; and 104 failed to meet licensure requirements.

COMPARISON WITH 2009-2010 RESULTS

IMPACT Scores
2010 WTU Highly Effective Effective Minimally Effective Ineffective Ineligible for Score TOTAL 663 2775 566 75 116 4195 Non-WTU 836 1311 161 60 27 2395 Total 1499 4086 727 135 143 6590 WTU 663 2765 528 65 95 4116 2011 Non-WTU 550 1504 222 48 143 2467 Total 1213 4269 750 113 238 6583

Separations
2010 WTU Ineffective 2x Minimally Effective Unplaced Extra Year Licensure TOTAL 75 N/A N/A 39 114 Non-WTU 60 N/A N/A 37 97 Total 135 N/A N/A 76 211 WTU 65 141 21 94 321 2011 Non-WTU 48 34 N/A 10 92 Total 113 175 21 104 413

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON SEPARATIONS All employees receiving separation notices will have the option to resign (or retire, if eligible) prior to the effective date of the separation. They will also have the opportunity to appeal their separations according to the rules set forth in their collective bargaining agreements.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT IMPACT For a complete description of the IMPACT system, including guidebooks explaining the evaluation process for all school staff, please visit www.dc.gov/DCPS/impact. A copy of DCPS collective bargaining agreement with the WTU may be found at www.wtulocal6.org/Contract.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT DCPS DCPS educates over 47,000 students in 126 schools in the nations capital. Approximately 6,500 employees are evaluated under IMPACT. About 4,100 of these staff members are part of the Washington Teachers Union, of which roughly 3,400 are teachers.

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