Former D.C. Schools Chief Michelle Rhee
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-04-04/former-dc-schools-chief-michelle-rhee
From her local post running D.C.'s public schools, Michelle Rhee developed a national profile in the education reform movement. Now she's trying to leverage that experience with a new organization pushing for nationwide changes. Kojo talks with Rhee about her time running the D.C. system and the lessons she learned from it.
Guests
Michelle Rhee
Founder and CEO, StudentsFirst; Former Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools
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Related Video
Former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee talks about allegations that gains made in test results during her tenure were inaccurate due to a high number of erasures on test papers from certain schools within the district. Rhee said that it was an "excellent call" for current DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson to proceed with an external investigation into the issue:
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Regarding the standardized testing culture you built in the District - What about the pressure on children? At least 2 schools I've visited have personally identifiable information about DC CAS scores up on bulletin boards! This is an unconscionable violation of privacy rights, and doesn't it go to show that we've gone way over the line?
I can't believe that Rhee is so naive. Journalist have most certainly cheated. The bottom line is the only choices are great gain or losses, corruption is inevitable. There's no incentive to do otherwise.
Also can we stop interviewing her? I don't understand why people still consider her relevant to the District. She already had the Oprah interview, so I think that we all agree that we heard enough from her. Honestly, she has nothing else of interest to say. We have heard it all before.
Time to move on...
Does she really think that creating an environment of fear won't result in cheating?
Ms. Rhee fired about 1/4 of DC teaching staff during her tenure and placed the rest on CYA alert (Meanwhile her own impact system found only about 6% ineffective).
She is not about students achievement, if she was she would have brought forward more rigorous curriculum and put in place the supports students need to meet the rigor.
Instead she beats on the drum of testing and firing.
She also wholeheartedly supports hiring of inexperienced teachers over those who have ability to say teach reading (DC Elementary reading scores in 2010 are down by 10% overall) .
Meanwhile parent's voices (see the US News inquiry was the result of parent questioning)--- have been largely silenced and we are tired or the BS. We want rigor not reform!
It may be that Ms Rhee does not know the culture of fear she created by running a system without checks or balances or accountability.. Her simple explanation that “Teachers I know would not do that” shows me that she did not know a very wide range of teachers. People were horribly afraid all the time under her administration.
People would call Principals and issue orders under her name without ever explaining who they were or what authority they held. There seemed to be a dozen voices speaking for the Chancellor who never showed any reason, research, policy sources or credentials for the policy they were installing. Most infamous was the anonymous, undocumented instruction that no Teachers should be evaluated as Outstanding. This was clearly crazy and many Principals simply ignored it. Ms. Rhee may not know this was happening in her name. But many such things did happen in her name and she didn’t know it, because she was never held to account.
It is remarkably easy to do whatever you want, install any policy or ignore any objections when you have the sort of absolute power she held. What is reprehensible is that others wielded it for her without any attempt to identify their authority to do so - and Rhee retained that "plausible deniability" so treasured by autocrats everywhere.
People need to understand that America’s government is not about management efficiency, it is about Representation.
She definitely knew and didn't care. I have a friend who worked in her administration for one year. According to her Rhee knew that she ran the schools in a very disintegris manner and didn't care when reminded that she had an obligation to do otherwise.