I know better than to believe any school superintendent's press clippings. The job is complicated, and what (and who) looks good in the beginning can turn sour in the end. But the first time I met Michelle Rhee, then head of The New Teacher Project and now D.C. schools Chancellor, she had utter command of her facts and was the most self-assured, but accessible person in the room. Quite a combination.

WSJ profiled her this past weekend, and after five months on the job, Ms. Rhee is winning applause from both Mayor Adrian Fenty and the press. Her plans to close 23 schools has parents and community groups screaming and her move to re-classify 545 central-office workers as "at will" employees has the union screaming (which doesn't actually represent them). But Fenty apparently supports her.

Rhee says her mission is not incremental change, and she is solidly pro-choice for parents. "I would never, as long as I am in this role, do anything to limit another parent's ability to make a choice for their child. Ever,'" she told WSJ.

Instead, she sees the competition presented by school choice and charter schools as part of the process of raising standards in the public school system at large. She refuses to establish a ratio of public schools to charter schools, believing instead that public schools must compete on an even playing field. As she told the Journal, "I believe we should proliferate what's working and close down what's not. Period."

There are no comments for this entry.

Post a Comment

*Name:

E-mail Address:

URL:

*Comment:

Please type this word:

*required fields. your email address will not be published

Please leave the following field blank: