Is Education Rheeform about to leave DC?

by Jessica Shiller · 2010-09-17 08:26:00 UTC
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Mayor Fenty just lost the Washington, DC primary election. Adrian Fenty was elected mayor in 2006 and gained control of the DC schools shortly after. He hired Michelle Rhee to run the DC school system in 2007. Over the past three years Rhee has gone full force in changing the DC schools.

She is most well known instituting reforms from the top without much input. She has closed schools, fired teachers and principals, as well as central office staff. Despite her autocratic style, some have hailed her reforms as ones that will save DC schools. Others have been much more critical and said that Rhee has been preoccupied with firing teachers and principals, has not paid any attention to instruction, and has alienated teachers, principals, and parents.

Regardless of your view of Rhee, whoever becomes the new mayor of DC will determine the future of its schools. Vince Gray, the new democratic candidate, has not been a friend of Rhee's. He has taken much different positions on education, has embraced the teachers union, and says he wants a more inclusive approach to school reform. Funders who have supported Rhee's reforms may pull out if Rhee is not at the helm.

What happens in DC will be critical in the next phase of school reform since many other cities around the country have tried to mimic what has happened in DC. Will Rheeform be here to stay? I guess we will find out on Election Day.

Photo credit: DC learns

Jessica Shiller is the education policy director for Advocates for Children and Youth in Baltimore, MD.
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