Michelle Rhee resigning as D.C. schools chancellor

This from the Washington Post:

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced Wednesday that she is resigning at the end of this month, bringing an abrupt end to a tenure that drew national acclaim but that also became a central issue in an election that sent her patron, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, to defeat.

Video interview: (Michelle Rhee talks with Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews about about D.C.'s school system issues, and what her kids learned from the new documentary "Waiting For Superman.")

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, and the teachers union accepted a contract that gave the chancellor sweeping powers to fire the lowest-performing among them.

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...

Also from WaPo:

Michelle Rhee likely to have pick of top education jobs,
but would she want one?

The Republican candidate for governor of Iowa thinks she'd be a great head of the state's department of education. Political chatter in New Jersey has her on Gov. Chris Christie's list of candidates for the top job there. Others see her as secretary of education in a second Obama administration, if there is one...

The Republican candidate for governor of Iowa thinks she'd be a great head of the state's department of education. Political chatter in New Jersey has her on Gov. Chris Christie's list of candidates for the top job there. Others see her as secretary of education in a second Obama administration, if there is one...

Some education advocates who share the core of her agenda in the District - which includes tougher teacher evaluations, more control over teacher assignments and linkage of pay to student performance - see her staying in the public sector. Others expect her to return to the nonprofit world, where she worked before Mayor Adrian M. Fenty named her chancellor in June 2007.

They also see the political reaction to her reform efforts in the District, which culminated with significant union support for Gray, as a powerful narrative to share...

And...here's what DC parents are saying:

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.

Tenuous Tenure

Those who track the political fortunes of school reform nationally have been watching the massive overhaul taking place in the Washington DC schools where dynamic chancellor Michelle Rhee has modeled the reformer's playbook. Her "go to" strategy mirrors that of an increasing number of superintendents these days - use student achievement data to measure teacher performance, and then, fire a bunch of teachers. Rhee was given her job by out-going mayor Adrian Fenty. If Rhee gets tossed out of the DC schools, what message, if any, will that send to similarly-minded superintendents?

This from the Washington Times:

Michelle A. Rhee wasn't on the ballot in Tuesday's primary, but the hard-charging D.C. schools chancellor - and the cause of overhauling one of the nation's most
troubled public school systems - took a major hit when the votes were counted.

Ms. Rhee, whose efforts to shake up the city's school system generated national attention, was closely tied to defeated D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. Her drive to overhaul and streamline the school system - in the face of fierce opposition from the powerful teachers union - now has an uncertain future under presumptive mayor-to-be Vincent C. Gray, the current D.C. Council chairman.

Education reformers on the ballot in races in New York City also lost to candidates with financial and logistical support from teachers unions.

"The lesson here is that the unions are going to protect their own, but that doesn't mean you have to knuckle under to them," said Peter Murphy, policy director for the New York State Charter Schools Association, many of whose endorsed candidates in
New York City lost.

As he did throughout the campaign, Mr. Gray on Wednesday refused to say whether he would retain Ms. Rhee, who personally campaigned for Mr. Fenty in the primary's final weeks. He told reporters Wednesday that a decision on Ms. Rhee won't be made until "after we sit down," and he wants to hold the meeting "ASAP." ...

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (ATF), congratulated Mr. Gray on his primary victory and pledged to "help ensure victory" for him in November. She didn't refer to Ms. Rhee, but praised Mr. Gray for his "willingness to listen and engage" and get everyone "rowing in the same direction."

Ms. Rhee generally has been at odds with the ATF's local, the Washington Teachers' Union, since she became chancellor in June 2007. The union spent heavily in support of the Gray campaign...

School reformers and education analysts said the Washington mayoral vote was not the only outcome that could alter the national debate over reform Tuesday night. In New York, several races turned on a battle between union interests and school reformers.

In Harlem/Upper West Side, Brooklyn and Queens, union-backed state Sens. Bill Perkins, Velmanette Montgomery and Shirley Huntley soundly defeated reform-backed opponents.

But two New York state assemblymen - Jonathan Bing of Upper Manhattan and Sam Hoyt of Buffalo - won their races, even though they had bucked education unions on reform issues.

In Baltimore, political newcomer and teacher Bill Ferguson, an aide to city schools chief executive Andres Alonso, unseated a veteran Democratic incumbent, said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform...

Rhee Apologizes to D.C. Educators for Pushing "too many" Reforms

This from The Washington Post:

Washington, D.C., school leaders may have pushed too many reforms too quickly, Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said. "In our exuberance to fix everything all at once, we've thrown so many different programs at you," she wrote in a letter to D.C. educators. "But now I see that we may have pushed on too many different fronts all at the same time." ...

...Since her appointment by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) in June 2007, Rhee has moved with urgency at all levels of the school system. Her most visible changes include closing 23 schools, firing dozens of principals and attempting to introduce a potentially groundbreaking pay-for-performance package in labor negotiations.

Less visible, but just as significant, are a flurry of pilot programs and policy changes that have placed increasing demands on many teachers. They include Saturday programs to prepare students for the DC-CAS standardized tests; a push for inclusion of special education students in regular classes; a new accelerated math program; a cash reward program for students in selected middle schools that requires new paperwork and record-keeping; and new guidelines for bilingual, arts and health education.

In a letter to the District's 4,000 teachers and specialists yesterday, Rhee acknowledged that she might have tried to take on too much too soon.

"In our exuberance to fix everything all at once, we've thrown so many different programs at you," Rhee said. "Please know that this comes from a desire to support you, not inundate you.

"But now I see that we may have pushed on too many different fronts all at the same time," she wrote. Rhee did not specify which programs or initiatives might be slowed or delayed.

Rhee is in contract negotiations with the teachers union at the present time.

School of choice for Obama girls?

This from Gregg Toppo at USA Today, Photo by Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images:

WASHINGTON — Great news for the Obamas: If they want to strike a populist note and send their two daughters to a District of Columbia public school, there are lots of choices.

But will they have to get in line like everyone else for the most
sought-after schools?

As a candidate, President-elect Barack Obama praised D.C. schools
chancellor Michelle Rhee as "a wonderful new superintendent" who is "working very hard with the young mayor there." Rhee, 38, has moved quickly in the 17 months since Mayor Adrian Fenty hired her, firing excess staff and ineffective principals and undertaking a large school consolidation plan.

What if Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, want to follow in the footsteps of Amy Carter, the last presidential child to attend a D.C. public school? Carter attended historic Thaddeus Stevens Elementary, six blocks from the White House.

Hold on a second: It's closed. Rhee shuttered it last winter in the consolidation.

How about a charter school? Obama has championed these publicly funded, privately run schools, bragging that he doubled the number of charters in Illinois.

There's a great charter school just four blocks north of the White House: SAIL, the School for Arts in Learning. But it's for "children with learning differences." There are plenty more choices, though.

In a sense, the Obamas face a dilemma that many upper-middle-class families do in most big cities: Open, egalitarian systems offer lots of school choices — but the best ones fill up fast (and admission each fall is by lottery if applicants outnumber slots). Still, few can match the offerings of pricey private schools.

Mary Lord, a member of D.C.'s State Board of Education, suggests several neighborhood schools, including Strong John Thomson Elementary, just seven blocks from the White House (it houses a Chinese language immersion program); Ross Elementary, about a mile north; and Oyster Bilingual School, a Spanish immersion school.

"My advice: Check it out," she says. "Go put your nose in there. Walk in the door."

It's unlikely the Obamas will choose a charter school, but if they do, says Brian Jones of the city's Public Charter School Board, the first family would have to tread lightly to avoid the impression that they "inappropriately jumped the line" to score two slots.

This year, 1,900 D.C. kids attend private schools with a congressional voucher that faces the chopping block. What if the Obama girls go the private school route, as many predict? Would President Obama soften his stance against it? Jones hopes so: "I'd love to see President Obama stand up and support the D.C. voucher law so that low-income kids in the city could have that same opportunity."

On Monday, Michelle Obama flew to Washington ahead of her husband and visited the private Georgetown Day School.

Rhee Seeks Tenure-Pay Swap for Teachers

This from the Washington Post:

Giving Up Seniority Would Boost Salary If Benchmarks Met

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is proposing a contract that would give mid-level teachers who are paid $62,000 yearly the opportunity to earn more than $100,000 -- but they would have to give up seniority and tenure rights, two union members familiar with the negotiations said yesterday.

Under the proposal, the school system would establish two pay tiers, red and green, said the union members, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.

Teachers in the red tier would receive traditional raises and would maintain tenure. Those who voluntarily go into the green tier would receive thousands of dollars in bonuses and raises, funded with foundation grants, for relinquishing tenure.

Teachers in the green tier would be reviewed yearly and would be allowed to continue in their jobs only if they passed an evaluation and boosted students' test scores, the union members said.

Under Rhee's proposal, raises to the green tier would be more than the 19 percent increase over five years she is proposing for all teachers, the union members said.

They said teachers are opposed to giving up seniority and tenure, no matter the size of their raise, and probably would reject such a proposal.

"You may be trading off your future, your tenure, your job security," a union member said. "When you trade that, it seems to me you're not getting much."

Rhee, who declined to comment yesterday because of the ongoing negotiations, has said she wants a contract that would "revolutionize education as we know it." She also has said she wants to improve instruction by ensuring that the District "has the most highly compensated and competent" teachers in the country....