NY schools boss backs move to sack under-performing teachers
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The man who inspired the education performance plan being considered by the Federal Government says the success of the program is undeniable.
Under the plan, school funding is tied to performance, and principals and teachers can be sacked if the schools consistently under-perform.
New York City's Schools Chancellor, Joel Klein, has told the ABC's Sunday Profile program the system of consequence and reward has been essential in improving the quality of the city's education.
"All of our principals sign an agreement with us saying if their school gets a D or an F two years in a row, or three Cs in a row, we can remove them," he said.
"We also reward those schools and those principals and teachers who get good results, by giving them additional pay."
Mr Klein says resistance from educators should not deter the Government from its goal.
He has told the program he has had great success from sacking a school's entire teaching staff and starting from scratch.
"I've shut down 70 schools, brought in a new principal who selected a new team and they are operating in a more effective way," he said.
"We had high schools that had a 30 per cent graduation rate, I shut those schools down and replaced them with smaller high schools in the same building and some of those schools now have a 70 or 80 per cent graduation rate."
The full interview with Joel Klein can be heard on Sunday Profile on ABC Local Radio on August 31.
