Nearly 600 low-performing Dallas public school teachers have a year to improve or be fired. The ultimatum came from the district in a letter this month explaining that their contracts would not be extended beyond the 2009-10 school year unless they become more effective in the classroom.
Jon Dahlander, a spokesman for the district, said the letters were part of its effort to move to one-year contracts, an approach that has angered teachers’ unions and those they represent.
The 580 targeted teachers make up about 5 percent of the teaching force. They were either already participating in a performance-improvement plan or in the bottom fifth of the district’s “Classroom Effectiveness Index,” based heavily on their students’ scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
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