Michelle Rhee to announce resignation as DC schools chancellor

[Kandahar]

washingtonpost.com

I'm very sad to see her leave. DC is losing a great reformer, who has done more than anyone else to improve the District's failing schools. Rhee is not only important for DC; since she is one of the most prominent education reformers in the country, I hope that her ouster doesn't demoralize the entire movement. Vince Gray hasn't taken office as our mayor yet (or even officially been elected), and already I don't like him for forcing Rhee out.

I hope that Rhee continues her work in education reform in some other capacity. Our nation needs more reformers like Michelle Rhee to reinvigorate our public schools. I wonder if Obama has considered giving her a job in the Department of Education. She and Arne Duncan would make a great team, and if he ever decides to step down as Secretary of Education, I think Rhee would be a great replacement.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

washingtonpost.com

I'm very sad to see her leave. DC is losing a great reformer, who has done more than anyone else to improve the District's failing schools. Rhee is not only important for DC; since she is one of the most prominent education reformers in the country, I hope that her ouster doesn't demoralize the entire movement. Vince Gray hasn't taken office as our mayor yet (or even officially been elected), and already I don't like him for forcing Rhee out.

I hope that Rhee continues her work in education reform in some other capacity. Our nation needs more reformers like Michelle Rhee to reinvigorate our public schools. I wonder if Obama has considered giving her a job in the Department of Education. She and Arne Duncan would make a great team, and if he ever decides to step down as Secretary of Education, I think Rhee would be a great replacement.

Didn't the mayors campaign revolve around getting her removed?

 

[Kandahar]

Didn't the mayors campaign revolve around getting her removed?

She was a focal point of the campaign, yeah. Adrian Fenty, the incumbent mayor, is quite a reformist himself and has stood by Rhee even when it was not politically convenient...and in the end it cost them both their jobs. Vince Gray, the presumptive mayor-elect, is much more of a union whore. He had the full backing of the odious DC teachers' union, and pledged to remove Rhee from office. He has now made good on that pledge.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

She was a focal point of the campaign, yeah. Adrian Fenty, the incumbent mayor, is quite a reformist himself and has stood by Rhee even when it was not politically convenient...and in the end it cost them both their jobs. Vince Gray, the presumptive mayor-elect, is much more of a union whore. He had the full backing of the odious DC teachers' union, and pledged to remove Rhee from office. He has now made good on that pledge.

Bleh, one of the candidates for governor, running in Georgia, is doing the same thing.

Right now, we don't do collective bargaining for teachers unions here, but my fear is that he will try to do that, once elected.

 

[Redress]

Was she the one that the Lehrer news Hour was doing the series of reports on awhile back? Seemed to have a great grasp of what needed to be done, and a willingness to do whatever it took.

 

[The Prof]

ms rhee fired hundreds of underperforming teachers in perhaps america's most embarrassing public school district and earned the opposition of the teachers' union

the educators offed mayor denty, their target being ms rhee, and they got her

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/14/dc-election-results_n_715617.html

the winners are the teachers and the union, the losers are the city, the kids, the families...

arne duncan, by the way, in my opinion, is perhaps the worst pick possible for ed secty

as ceo of chicago public schools he couldn't even get the kids to and from class alive

Chicago Teen Deaths, Violence Tied To School Reform Plan?

Catalyst Notebook :: Violence on the rise inside Chicago high schools

duncan's renaissance 2010 certainly appears to have made the situation significantly worse

it's tragic

 

[Kandahar]

arne duncan, by the way, in my opinion, is perhaps the worst pick possible for ed secty

Arne Duncan is an effective reformer as well. The Race to the Top initiative (buried deep within the stimulus) which Duncan championed is a fantastic idea. While he never achieved the kind of results in Chicago that Rhee has achieved in DC, he seems to be doing very well as Education Secretary IMO.

 

[The Prof]

read up on renaissance 2010 and the "wave of violence" submerging chicago's schools

read about the hundreds of parents whose kids have been shot since its implementation

race to the top, incidentally, precipitated one of the earliest rebellions of the caucus against the white house

Obama Spars With Democrats over Education Reform Funding - ABC News

 

[jambalaya]

If the teachers union hates her then I like her. I read her bio on Wikipedia. She is definitely on the right track but in the end the entrenched educational bureaucracy is too strong. The teachers union is a horrible organization.

 

[Councilman]

I have to admit I never heard of her until now, and I guess it's because I can't stand Oprah Windbag.

I did a little checking and I have to say I was impressed with her record as an educator. Too bad there are not one hell of lot more with her drive and ability.

Kind of cute too.