From Orlando Sentinel Education Blog:

The Orange County school district declared a hiring freeze
late Friday, saying no teacher jobs could be filled but for
those at nine campuses.

The nine schools did not make adequate yearly progress in
2008-09 under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Some,
but not all, of them did poorly on Florida's school report
card last week, too.

The state's new Differentiated Accountability system -- a
complicated system that combines state grades and NCLB to
judge performance-- is the reason for the hiring freeze,
the district says.

I don't yet have a detailed explanation, and the nine
schools were not all in the same "D.A." category last year.

But this much is clear: All jobs that had been open at
other Orange County public schools are now on hold.

The district's goal is get "high-performing staff" hired
for the 9 schools first and then resume hiring for other
schools, said Kathy Marsh, a district spokesman.

The nine schools are Catalina, Ivey Lane, Hiawassee, Lovell
and Wheatley elementary schools and Carver, Memorial,
Walker and Westridge middle schools.

District administrators are reviewing the current teachers
at those nine schools to find out if any did not make
"performance gains," Marsh said. Some of those instructors
could be shifted to other campuses, she added.

Administrators are also looking over the records of
teachers at other schools to see if anyone would be a good
match for jobs at the nine, she said.

At the moment, they do not know how many teachers they will
need at the nine schools.

Once the jobs at the nine schools are filled,
administrators will resume hiring for other schools, Marsh
said, with the hope that all hiring is complete by
mid-July.

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