“You can buy a lot of help for children with that money.”

That’s what Joyce Irvine told a New York Times reporter after she was dismissed from her job as principal of the H.O. Wheeler Elementary School in Burlington’s Old North End. The school, renamed the Integrated Arts Academy this year, has been deemed an “underperforming school” by the Obama administration.

Her ouster has raised hackles locally, but the national attention is giving new fuel to critics of federal education policies that punish schools even when they are showing improvement.

Wheeler students performed below federal standards on tests. The Burlington School District could qualify for $3 million in federal money to help its students — provided it removed the principal of the underperforming school.

This article appears in Jul 21-27, 2010.

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Tyler Machado was the digital media manager at Seven Days. He mostly worked behind the scenes making sure the website, email newsletters and social media feeds stayed in tip-top shape.

4 replies on “Wheeler Principal Removal Makes New York Times”

  1. Sanders needs to do more than talk to Duncan. He needs to talk to Vermont educators who can tell him many stories about the nonsense of NCLB. Just one more Bush era junk law being carried forward. I am not getting what I voted for at all. Remember in Novemnber 2012!!

  2. On a somewhat related note, has anyone reading this sent your kid(s) to Wheeler even though you’re outside the district, specifically because of the “arts” angle? Can you explain what it was that convinced you to do this? Do you intend to leave them at Wheeler for the duration, or is it just a kindergarten thing? I’m honestly curious as to why some parents who have other options have (reportedly) been sending their kids to Wheeler.

  3. I was right on board until I hit the sentence – “Irvine now acts as a school improvement coordinator for the district, making $93,000 a year.” What was she making as principal? How much punishment really is a $93K a year job? Especially these days.

  4. The punishment isn’t about money or a job – trust me, people don’t get into education for the money! (Every administrator or experienced teacher who makes a decent salary spent many years scraping to get by, including taking second jobs or living off the benefit of their spouse’s income.) The punishment is having to leave a job where she has worked hard to help children and where she has established relationships with the children and community. I am glad that the district did not let her go completely.

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