Teeth sought in ed reform

OLYMPIA – Bad teachers and principals could be fired at the end of a school year if they don’t improve under a series of education reforms proposed Tuesday by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Washington universities would also set up “laboratory” schools in failing schools across the state and a Cabinet-level office would be set up to coordinate and improve high school, college and technical school programs, under plans to be presented to the Legislature in January.

The office would oversee everything from high school through graduate level programs. Gregoire said she’s dropped an earlier plan for a single office to coordinate everything from preschool through doctoral programs in the state.

“I want real reforms,” she said. “It can’t be a shiny new toy. It can’t be just something to talk about.”

The state’s evaluation system would be changed from the current two levels of unsatisfactory and satisfactory to a four-level system: unsatisfactory, basic, proficient and distinguished.

A teacher or principal who was evaluated as unsatisfactory in September would be fired in the spring if he or she did not receive a new evaluation of at least basic. Teachers and principals evaluated as basic two years in a row would also be fired.

Distinguished teachers would be “celebrated” by their districts and communities, although there are no plans in the governor’s proposed reforms to set aside state money for raises or bonuses.

Although she believes the vast majority of teachers and principals in Washington are proficient or better, those who can’t rise above an unsatisfactory rating should find another career, Gregoire said.

The Washington Education Association, the union that represents teachers across the state, gave the proposals qualified support.

“The biggest problem facing our schools isn’t bad teachers,” Mary Lindquist, the WEA president, said in a press release. “The biggest threat facing our students and public schools is bad corporate tax loopholes that let our most profitable businesses and wealthiest individuals avoid paying their fair share.”

The union “wholeheartedly” supports Gregoire’s four-tier evaluation system, Lindquist said. But WEA spokesman Rich Wood later said that any system that results in dismissal of teachers is something that may have to be bargained in local school district contracts.

“There are still just a lot of questions … about the details,” Wood said.