Bad Teachers Get Whacked

Annapolis

Smug, about what?

Science class This is one of those snarky regional  things that elude me entirely.   Annapolis (MD) residents are so smugly insular that leaving the city to shop is such a  horrifying a prospect that, well, they just don't. Several years ago developers looked at the area's demographics, and saw success for the proposed Marley Station Mall.  They built it.  Unfortunately, Marley Station is in Glen Bernie, a nearby  suburb, and, as such, way too icky to Annapolitans, a large chunk of the prospective clientèle. Today it's nearly a ghost town; the stores - the same stores - having migrated to Annapolis malls.  Annapolitans wear those flu-masks when attending athletic events in Cape St. Claire or Pasadena, and won't pee until they can pull off onto Rowe Blvd. Don't get me wrong.  Annapolis a nice city, with a harbor that's about 10 times more charming than San Francisco's, and without the carnival midway atmosphere.  But,  property is way inflated,  given that the city's school system seems to have been modeled on the District of Columbia's.  Mothers work to pay the tuition so the kids  can attend St. Mary's,  or any of the myriad private schools that cater to the well heeled.  I know you're wondering, and yes, the city government is comprised of them .  Democrats who are genetically incapable of effectively governing anything, and whose parents, I suppose,  eschewed St. Mary's.   Think I'm guilty of hyperbole?  “ After failing to meet state targets on standardized tests for a fifth consecutive year, Annapolis High School has reached the end of the line under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. *snip* Under No Child Left Behind, a certain percentage of students at each school must pass state standardized exams each year in Algebra and English. Those standards, called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), will increase steadily until 2014, when every high school student must pass both tests. Schools like Annapolis High that fail to meet targets five consecutive years enter the final "restructuring" phase that can mean a state takeover. *snip* Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell zero-based Annapolis High last spring, making all employees reapply for their jobs and eventually replacing about 65 teachers at the school. That was a step toward restructuring, Mr. Mosier said. [Annapolis High runs out of chances]  ” One might wonder why it took federal legislation (from the Good Bush) to force Annapolis to fire bad teachers?  That is, one might wonder if one is a nincompoop liberal. To everyone else, it's common sense, and something that ought to have been done five years ago.