John Merrow had an interesting post on his blog Learning Matters about Michelle Rhee, the polarizing superintendent of Washington D.C. schools.
Rhee has a nationwide base of fervent supporters who believe in the drastic reforms she's brought to the D.C. school system since taking the helm more than three years ago. But she likely has just as many detractors - and many of them close to home. Among her changes, as Merrow points out, she's closed nearly two dozen schools, fired more than 15% of her central office staff, and let over 100 teachers go, citing inadequate performance.
But now that Mayor Adrian Fenty has lost his bid for re-election - due in part to powerful teacher union backing of his challenger - what will happen to Rhee? And if she goes, what will happen to the whopping $75 million D.C. schools received through the US DOE's Race to the Top Program? The school system won the money because of its reform efforts.
Read John's full blog post for all the details. And don't forget that you can see John Merrow speak at the TASA/TASB Convention next week.
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