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Urban School Children Have a New Advocate

by Rachel Hicks on March 8, 2008 in The Blackboard

If you haven’t seen this article from the Washington Post about changes afoot in the D.C. Public Schools, you should take five minutes and read it.

Since Mayor Fenty appointed Michelle Rhee the Chancellor of D.C.’s school system, Rhee has been making big waves. Every new superintendent likes to put her mark on a district, but Rhee has had the courage to take unheard of action in the last several months in the hopes that she can improve what many regard as a failing school district. Just a few weeks ago, Rhee’s final school closing list (23 schools in all) was all over the Post.  Rarely do school districts close schools, even if they have good reason to do so, because the districts often cannot withstand the public pressure. Rhee, however, pressed on with her plans. She held dozens of meetings with parents, teachers, and students, and she seems poised to get her wishes.

Now, Rhee has made another major move. Months ago, she and Mayor Fenty pushed the D.C. Council to grant Rhee the right to deem non-unionized workers “at-will” employees, which means that they can be fired at any time without a protracted hearing process. On Friday, Rhee exercised her authority by terminating 98 central office staff who her team felt were either an unnecessary expense or not performing adequately.

As someone who has been following education news for several years, I cannot ever think of a superintendent actually firing so many employees who the superintendent felt did not do their jobs. I have been following Michelle Rhee with interest for the last several months, and I hope many of you will, too. With her heartfelt call to close the achievement gap and her deep belief in accountability, she may be the last best hope for D.C.’s public school children. Her success, should she make progress, will undoubtedly influence other urban districts. I, for one, am crossing my fingers.

Written by Rachel Hicks · Filed Under The Blackboard 

A Mississippi native, Rachel Hicks taught seventh-grade English with Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta. She has worked in both rural and urban school districts, in state government, and for a national education policy think tank. Rachel is currently a second-year Master's in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Comments

One Response to “Urban School Children Have a New Advocate”

  1. Lin Yang on March 10th, 2008 12:51 am

    I think she’s coming to the Forum on April 15.

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