Racing To The Top: Rhode Island Gets Interesting…

Blogs, Letters & Testimonials

February 19, 2009

The Providence Journal reports this morning that Rhode Island Education Commissioner Peter McWalters has informed Providence Superintendent Tom Brady that city schools may no longer allow seniority “bumping” to push good teachers out of bad schools.

And before anyone can say, “But wait, what about the teachers contract?” McWalters is making clear those kinds of excuses aint gonna fly.

“I’m saying that seniority is not an appropriate way to manage the assignment of teachers based on what we know in the 21st century,” he said. “It’s no longer about teacher preferences. It’s about whether the teacher is the best match for that particular student.”

Wow.