Last Chance for School Reform: D.C. Schools are the Worst in the Nation, But They May Also Be Ripe for Big Changes

AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL teachers don't get fired. They just don't. In New York City, hundreds of teachers spend all day in "rubber rooms" because they're deemed too dangerous or stupid to supervise children but can't be booted because they have union-protected tenure. In crisis-ridden California, the mildest of threats from Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut back on teaching staffs led to an immediate rebuke from the White House. So when 266 teachers were unceremoniously canned in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 20% the educators of America collectively slid their glasses down their noses and glared at the District of Columbia. Although 266 firings might not seem like a lot in a country that has lost 8.4 million jobs since December 2007, they could turn out to be more important to the nation's long-term health than the $150 billion "jobs bill" legislators were debating on Capitol Hill.