Reports on Schools Cite Student Discontent

The degree of parental involvement at the schools varied. Parents at Eastern High "are clearly involved and want the best for their students," the evaluators wrote. But at Johnson Middle, where only 6 percent of the students are proficient in math and English language arts: "Plainly, there wasn't any parental involvement evident in the school," they wrote.

The reports of disorder and low staff morale might explain why Rhee chose to fire 13 of the principals who headed schools facing overhaul. Rhee said she will not comment on specific dismissals. But Lincoln's Blazquez, Eliot's Roach and Dunbar Principal Harriett Kargbo, for example, were told that their contracts would not be renewed.

Another principal dismissed was Anacostia High's Lynne Gober, who dismayed evaluators with her answer when she was asked what had been done to address behavior issues at the school, where 7.6 percent of the 953 students achieved proficiency on reading tests last year.

"Shoot 'em," Gober said. Although the report noted that the response "may have been facetious," the visiting team said the school needs to do more "to ensure a culture and climate that is conducive to teaching and learning."

Gober, the school's third principal in the past three years, said Friday that the comment was absolutely in jest. "That's me," she said. "I have to find humor in some things. Was it tactful? I guess not."

Staff writer V. Dion Haynes contributed to this report.