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  • A Report Card for Rhee

    A Report Card for Rhee
    She's almost certainly leaving. So how did she do?
    By P.J. ORVETTI
    Updated 3:16 PM EDT, Thu, Sep 30, 2010
    A Report Card for Rhee | NBC Washington

    Robyn Twomey

    Michelle Rhee is not going to stay on as D.C. Schools Chancellor. Thinking otherwise is to follow in the steps of those still pushing an Adrian Fenty write-in campaign -- a willful denial of the results of the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.

    The absolute best case for Rhee under Mayor Vincent Gray would be a continuation of things as they are -- near-total authority with the full support of the mayor. And there’s no way Gray would give her that. More realistically, Rhee would see her autonomy curtailed greatly, and major decisions made subject to mayoral veto.

    So why, when Rhee is basking in the national glory attached to the film “Waiting for ‘Superman,’” would she want to stay? She can have her pick of urban school systems to lead -- or may go even higher.

    Though I seem to be alone in this prediction for now, I think Rhee could end up as the U.S. secretary of education in the near future. Republicans are expected to make big gains in November, and replacing Arne Duncan with Rhee -- a high-profile Asian-American woman who appeals to conservatives -- would be a logical political move for President Obama.

    Rhee will be on the scene for a long time, even if it’s not in District governance. But just who is she, anyway?

    It’s hard to assess Rhee without passions getting in the way. The mere mention of her single syllable surname causes some to swoon and others to foam at the mouth. Her actual record in the city is rarely looked at dispassionately.

    After three years teaching in Baltimore as part of Teach For America, Rhee founded the nonprofit New Teacher Project in 1997, when she was just 27 years old. By 2007, the group, which works to recruit and train teachers in problem districts, had found more than 10,000 teachers for schools in 20 states.

    She had labored in relative obscurity for those 10 years, and many were stunned when the new mayor of D.C. asked her to take over the city’s schools in 2007. Rhee initially rejected Fenty’s offer, but gave in when he promised her unprecedented authority and aggressive backing from his office.

    When she came on the job, just one in 12 D.C. eighth graders was at grade level in mathematics, and other indicators weren’t much better. Rhee shut down schools, fired teachers, forged a merit pay agreement with the city teachers union, and scored outside funding for her initiatives. In just three years, she went from obscurity to being the public face of education reform.

    The results: high school standardized test pass rates went up 14 percent in reading and 17 percent in math, while elementary school pass rates went up by smaller but still impressive margins. High school graduation rates climbed slightly. Underperforming teachers were booted, and Rhee has recruited a new generation of bright replacements.

    But critics point out that significant achievement gaps remain between students in high-performing and low-performing schools, which in D.C. means between white and black students. Teachers and parents said Rhee cut them out of the reform process, and members of the D.C. Council criticized Rhee for ignoring their requests for information on her decisions and on school operations. Some schools were closed without public hearings.

    Cutting through the hyperbole on both sides, it seems fair to say that Rhee improved the District’s chronically poor schools for some, but not all, students, and -- more importantly -- that she leaves a legacy where good teachers have an incentive to stay in the system and where bad teachers can no longer expect to be left alone.

    But she is not “Superman,” and she is not infallible. Though it might not make for a neat network news profile, the reality is more complex.
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

  • #2
    Is there racism in Washington's school reform?
    washingtonpost.com
    Saturday, October 2, 2010; A12

    EXHIBIT A in the indictment of D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as caring little about the education of poor black children is Hardy Middle School. Her ouster of the school's principal was said to be a prelude to attracting white students to the Georgetown school at the expense of black students who, lacking viable educational opportunities in their own neighborhoods, make up the bulk of enrollment at the arts-oriented school. The only problems with that argument -- like most of the charges about Ms. Rhee's supposed indifference to black children -- are the facts. As a result of Ms. Rhee's changes, enrollment at the school increased from 419 students to 520 students this year, with the effect that there are more children from predominantly African American neighborhoods, including those east of the Anacostia River.

    There is no denying the stark racial divide of the recent mayoral primary. Many residents of distressed black neighborhoods believe that white, affluent neighborhoods are routinely afforded more attention and resources. Historically there are plenty of grounds for resentment. But any suggestion that Ms. Rhee lacks either passion for or interest in raising the achievement levels of black students -- along with those of white, Latino and special-education pupils -- is a slander. The charge seriously misreads the past three years and 10 months and how Ms. Rhee has worked to fix a system that was notorious for its inability to provide textbooks to students, much less educate them.

    "By any measure, the public schools in D.C. are dramatically better today than when they started," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on "Meet the Press," referring to the reform efforts of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Ms. Rhee. Under Ms. Rhee's leadership, the District went from having the country's worst scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress to leading the nation in the rate of improvement. African American students make up about 75 percent of the public school enrollment and -- contrary to claims by critics -- they have not been left behind. On local test scores, 23.93 percent of black elementary students were proficient in math and 32.62 percent were proficient in reading in 2007; the percentages rose to 36.9 in math and 38.77 in reading in 2010. The gains of black secondary-school students were even more remarkable: In 2007, 22.48 percent were proficient in math and 25.85 percent were proficient in reading, compared with 37.59 percent proficient in math and 38.05 percent in reading in 2010.

    Of course, those numbers are still woefully unacceptable, as Ms. Rhee is the first to say -- which is why she has directed resources to students most in need. She established full-service schools where additional staff is provided to offer wrap-around services and other supports to improve student behavior; most are located in Wards 6, 7 and 8. Another program, DC Start, provides early mental health intervention; of the 10 schools allocated a full-time social worker, five are located in Wards 5, 7 and 8. Another program provides coaches for special-education students; of the 16 schools participating in this effort, nine are located in Ward 8 and three are in Ward 7. There are also new tutors for students at risk of dropping out and coordinated support programs for students who are pregnant or who have children.

    Ms. Rhee has moved aggressively to make changes in failing schools. Twenty schools in Wards 7 and 8 have been restructured, including those, like Anacostia High School, that are being managed by an innovative charter partner. In the past year, Ms. Rhee held more community meetings in Ward 8 (10 meetings) and Ward 7 (11) than in Ward 2 (four) or Ward 3 (six). Meanwhile, information from school facilities chief Allen Y. Lew shows that renovations and repairs were undertaken throughout the city. The most money spent in fiscal 2008 and 2009 was for work in Ward 5, followed by Ward 8.

    Has Ms. Rhee sought to attract support and participation from the middle class, both white and black, while also meeting the needs of poor children? We would certainly hope so. Economic diversity makes for a healthy school system, and families that pay the bulk of taxes that support the school system should be welcomed. Instead of being faulted for wooing new parents to the schools, Ms. Rhee should be applauded for helping rebuild confidence in the system; for the first time in decades, school enrollment has increased this year.

    Since D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray's victory in the Democratic mayoral primary, we haven't waded into the conversation on whether the presumptive mayor-elect should retain Ms. Rhee. In our view, he's entitled to some space and time to weigh such a crucial decision and to work with a chancellor he's confident in. But he should be allowed to base his decision on facts, not fears or fantasy. School reform in Washington has not been anti-black.

    View all comments that have been posted about this article.
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

    Comment


    • #3
      Michelle Rhee resigns as D.C. schools chancellor

      By Tim Craig and Bill Turque
      Washington Post Staff Writers
      Wednesday, October 13, 2010; 12:21 PM

      Presumptive mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray introduced Kaya Henderson on Wednesday as the interim chancellor of D.C. public schools and vowed that reforms launched under Michelle A. Rhee would continue when he takes office in January.

      "We cannot and will not return to the days of incrementalism," said Gray, who appeared at a mid-morning news conference with Rhee, Henderson and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who will formally appoint Henderson at Gray's request. Gray, the D.C. Council chairman, beat Fenty in the Democratic primary election last month.

      Gray also said that while he has "no intention of micromanaging DCPS," he asked Henderson to keep the school system's senior leadership in place until at least the end of the current school year. Henderson is regarded within the Gray camp as a potential permanent successor to Rhee.

      The group took only a handful of questions from a hotel conference room packed with journalists, and neither Gray nor Rhee shed light on what they called a "mutual decision" to part ways.

      In a prepared statement, Rhee said that leaving after nearly 31/2 turbulent years was "heartbreaking," but she said Gray "deserves the opportunity to work toward his goal of 'One City' with a team that shares his vision, can keep progress going and help bridge the divide."

      "In short, we have agreed - together - that the best way to keep the reforms going is for this reformer to step aside."

      In brief remarks of her own, Henderson told reporters, "I'm excited about where we are, and I'm thrilled that the management team has agreed to stay on to continue this process."

      Rhee survived three contentious years that made her a superstar of the education reform movement and one of the longest-serving school leaders in the city in two decades. Student test scores rose, decades of enrollment decline stopped and the teachers union accepted a contract that gave the chancellor, in tandem with a rigorous new evaluation system, sweeping new powers to fire low-performing educators.

      But Rhee will leave with considerable unfinished business in her quest to improve teaching, close the worst schools and infuse a culture of excellence in a system that has been one of the nation's least effective at educating students.

      Fenty, who opened the news conference and introduced the outgoing chancellor, praised Rhee for taking on what he called "the thankless job" of running D.C. schools. He said she had exceeded his highest expectations during her tumultuous tenure. "It's not just the results all of you know so well ... but it's the excitement that she brought to the school system."

      Fenty also lauded Henderson, saying, "I have had the opportunity to work with her, and I have as much confidence in Kaya's ability to run the school system as anyone who has ever known her."

      The move won immediate support from the Washington Teachers' Union, which has long battled Rhee. "I think leaving sooner is better than later, so there will not be all this speculation," said union head George Parker. "Making a decision will relieve the tension."

      But D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), who endorsed Gray but has generally supported Rhee's initiatives, said: "I'm deeply disappointed.... We always heard it was about the children. I don't think it is good for the children for her to leave in the middle of the fall. I had always hoped that if she wanted to leave she'd be part of a smooth transition."

      President Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, commented briefly on the change in leadership of the D.C. schools Wednesday morning, saying that the president did not regret his decision to stay neutral in the mayor's race even though Fenty's loss led to Rhee's resignation.

      "I don't think the president regrets not getting involved in a mayoral race," Gibbs told reporters at his morning briefing. "Obviously, the important work people like Michelle Rhee and Arne Duncan are doing needs to continue regardless of the outcome of elections."

      Rhee's departure has been anticipated since Fenty was defeated in the Sept. 14 Democratic mayoral primary. She campaigned on his behalf and questioned whether Gray had the political will to make the unpopular decisions she thought were necessary to sustain school improvement.

      Two weeks ago, Gray and Rhee met for about 90 minutes to begin talking about her future and the chairman's vision for school reform. Since then, the two have held several private phone discussions, said those familiar with the discussions.

      Gray and Rhee agreed that the debate over her future was becoming a distraction for teachers, students and parents, people close to them said.

      .

      In Henderson, Gray inherits someone in tune with Rhee on the fundamentals of education reform, especially the belief that teacher quality is the most important determinant of student success. Rhee and Henderson worked together at the New Teacher Project, a teacher recruiting nonprofit group that Rhee founded and ran before she was appointed by Fenty in June 2007. Henderson was a vice president for the group.

      She was Rhee's first appointment and was named her top deputy the day Rhee was introduced to the District. At the time, Rhee made it sound as if they had come to the District as a package.

      "I told Kaya, 'I can't do this without you,' " Rhee said at the time. "She's everything you'd want in a leader. She has an ability to motivate people. She's a critical thinker, and she's an innovative thinker."

      At the New Teacher Project, Henderson ran the organization's D.C. operation, which had contracts with D.C. public schools to supply teachers. Before that, Henderson worked for Teach for America - where Rhee began her educational career - teaching middle school Spanish in the South Bronx.

      At a D.C. Council meeting last year, Henderson recounted her first impressions of the city's struggling school system and her aspirations to change it. "I was stunned at the lack of commitment to ensuring the highest-quality educational force in the country," Henderson said. "The District tolerated people and practices that other school systems would never accept."

      At a meeting in August of school principals, Henderson offered a football coach-style motivational talk, reinforcing Rhee's core message: that poverty and other conditions outside the classroom are not an excuse for poor academic achievement.

      "Our responsibility is to deliver the goods, no matter what the situations our students are in," she said. "The reform is in the schoolhouse. You are here because we believe you are the right people to deliver this reform. The election is not our concern; the election is not your concern. Go hard, or go home!"

      As deputy chancellor for "human capital," Henderson was a key figure in the firing of 98 central office employees in 2008. She was also lead D.C. negotiator on the marathon contract talks with the Washington Teachers' Union, which led to a labor pact that establishes classroom performance - rather than traditional seniority - as the main factor driving job security.

      But Henderson was known to have a decent relationship with Parker.

      "I respect her because she is a collaborative person, but also a very strong reformer," Parker said Tuesday night.

      Rhee's goals - higher student achievement, better teachers and greater accountability for their classroom performance - were generally shared by her predecessors. But with new powers putting the struggling school system under mayoral control, Rhee pursued the goals with an unprecedented zeal.

      She closed more than two dozen schools, fired teachers by the hundreds and spent more than two years negotiating a labor contract that gives principals new control over teacher hiring while establishing a new performance-pay system that ties compensation to growth in student test scores.

      Rhee also dramatically expanded the number of spaces in preschool, pre-K and Head Start, and opened the Early Stages diagnostic center to help flag learning disabilities in children ages 2 to 5. She piloted a program of "wrap-around" support services for at-risk middle school kids and launched a program of "themed" schools focusing on science and technology, world cultures and the arts.

      "I'm shocked that she's leaving so quickly," said Ted Trabue, president of the D.C. State Board of Education. "I really thought [Gray and Rhee] would work something out so that she stayed until the end of the academic year. I thought it would have been in the best interests of the students."

      Gray has said that he supports an ambitious program of school reform but does not think that change depends on a single person. In an interview with The Washington Post last week, he said that if Rhee left, he would seek a replacement who shares many of her values and is not a veteran who has spent several decades in top school jobs.

      He ruled out Rhee's predecessor, Clifford Janey, whose name had circulated as a possible replacement. Aside from Henderson, other prominent names include Robert Bobb, the former D.C. school board president and city administrator who is now the fiscal overseer of the Detroit school system, and former D.C. State Superintendent of Education Deborah Gist, now Rhode Island commissioner of education.

      Staff writer Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
      To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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      • #4
        Rhee's defeat: Sad but no surprise
        All Opinions Are Local - Rhee's defeat: Sad but no surprise
        By Sheri Singer
        Arlington

        One of the brightest lights the District has ever seen is out as D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced her resignation [“Rhee to resign as schools chancellor,” front page, Oct. 13]. Ms. Rhee was not only a hero to many D.C. public school students and teachers, she was also a beacon of long-waited light for the nation. As demonstrated in the documentary “Waiting for Superman,” Ms. Rhee really was a superman. She took on an archaic education system that doesn’t work and tried to make real and substantial changes. She failed. Is it a surprise? No. No one, not even those who make the cover of national magazines, can take on a monster bureaucratic system and win.

        But despite this reality, it’s a sad day not only for the kids and teachers in the District, but for all Americans. What this says about us as a nation and as a community is that we are incapable of real change. Whether we are talking about education, finance, housing or politics, Americans seem mired in the muck of the status quo. It’s no surprise that we have a sluggish economy, housing foreclosures, a failing education system and innate distrust of our country’s leaders.

        What happened in the District with Ms. Rhee mirrors what has happened throughout our nation, and that makes it a sad day for all of us.
        2010
        10
        13
        18
        56

        By washingtonpost.com editors | October 13, 2010; 6:56 PM ET
        Categories: D.C., D.C. politics, HotTopic, schools
        To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

        Comment


        • #5
          Maybe parents should dredge care.

          D.C. parents sound off on Rhee exit
          washingtonpost.com
          By Jenna Johnson and Nick Anderson
          Wednesday, October 13, 2010; 12:10 PM

          Among D.C. parents, Michelle A. Rhee remained a stubbornly polarizing figure on the day she announced her resignation as schools chancellor. The divisions were evident Wednesday as children were being dropped off at two elementary schools in two corners of the city.

          At Thomas Elementary in Northeast Washington, some parents, grandparents and others were happy to see her go. Others worried about what will happen without her. Some weren't sure what to think. Remarkably, a few still didn't know who Rhee was after three years of nonstop newsmaking.

          Most of the school's 250 students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Last year, the school began a massive restructuring to address years of lagging test scores.

          "I figured this was coming," said Ugenia Bagley, whose daughter is a first-grader. "A lot of people had problems with [Rhee]. I don't have many problems with her. She got some schools in order that weren't in order."

          Lorraine Woodridge, 54, has two grandchildren at Thomas and two others at a nearby public charter school. She said she can't believe how the public schools have "turned around" under Rhee's guidance.

          "I would like to see her stay," said Woodridge, who has lived in Northeast Washington for more than 20 years. "I've seen a lot of improvements. . . . The teachers are caring; it's not just a job to them. I haven't seen something like that in D.C. in a long, long time."

          Tiaira Cha`Nova, 24, who was dropping off her 5-year-old nephew, said Rhee's departure was good news. "I don't think she actually did much, anyway," she said. Cha`Nova said that for schools to improve, the city needs to pay teachers more, offer more special-education classes and give children more resources, such as community centers. "They are being set up for failure. It should be better."

          At Stoddert Elementary in Northwest Washington, home to a more affluent population and the site of a gleaming campus renovation, most parents interviewed said they had supported the reelection of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.

          By extension, that meant they supported Rhee.

          But a month after D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray beat Fenty in the Democratic mayoral primary, there were mixed feelings.

          "I was supportive of Michelle Rhee's reforms. But I gotta tell you, she didn't go out on a high note," said Brian Cohen, 42, who works on Capitol Hill and has a first-grader and fifth-grader at the school. "The way she handled the last six weeks left a bad taste in my mouth. I want someone who's going to continue reforms, but who's about the kids, not an ego trip."

          Deirdre McAllister, 45, a government worker who was dropping off her daughter at pre-kindergarten, called Rhee's departure "a loss" for the city.

          "She had to make some hard decisions, and in a lot of cases she made the right decisions," McAllister said. "There are a lot of people in the schools who probably weren't certified to do their jobs. It was really strong of her to remove those who were ineffective."

          McAllister added that the D.C. school system "should be the model for the rest of the country. It's not yet, but maybe it will be."

          [email protected] [email protected]
          To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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