Teachers and principals at 11 low-performing schools in Baltimore and three in Baltimore County face the likelihood of reapplying for their jobs this spring as part of restructuring mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
All the schools have failed to meet standards under No Child Left Behind for several years.
If they don't meet standards again this year, they are required to restructure in one of four ways: replacing staff deemed responsible for low student achievement, converting to a charter school, contracting with an outside operator to run a school or appointing a principal designated by the state as "distinguished."
State officials say they expect most of the 39 schools affected in Maryland to choose the staff replacement option. In Baltimore and Baltimore County, that means everyone on staff must reapply for a job.
In Prince George's County, home to 21 of the schools, the scale of the staff replacement will vary according to where a school is falling short, but all teachers who are not considered "highly qualified" will be replaced.
Baltimore officials asked local school communities for input on how to restructure. In every case where a school responded, the choice was requiring the entire staff to reapply.
"If you look at the four options, it's the one schools most intuitively understand," said city schools CEO Andres Alonso, who has begun interviewing principal candidates at the affected schools.
The city school board voted 8-0 last night to approve plans for staff replacement at Forest Park and Northwestern high schools and Sharp-Leadenhall Elementary. It approved plans last month for Dunbar Middle, Harford Heights Intermediate and Sinclair Lane Elementary.
The other five schools in Baltimore that must restructure are all alternative schools, and Alonso said far more than staff replacement might be necessary. Before bringing plans to the board, he and his staff are considering whether those schools should be closed or completely reorganized.
The Baltimore County school board has approved plans to require all staff to reapply at Woodlawn High, Lansdowne Middle and Southwest Academy. Last year, staff had to reapply at Woodlawn Middle.
Teacher transfers
The decisions are subject to approval by local school boards and the state school board. Generally, displaced staff members would be transferred to jobs elsewhere in their systems.
