Michelle Rhee- Pariah or Messiah?

Who is Michelle Rhee? 

For those in teaching profession it is difficult not to have an opinion about Michelle Rhee.  There essentially is no middle ground. You are either fascinated by her zeal and her take charge persona to make a difference in our nation’s public schools or you are an avowed enemy, especially if you are in a teachers union. Ms. Rhee gained a great deal of national attention when she was appointed chancellor of Washington D.C. public schools in 2007.  This is a system that by my conjecture should be the best in the country- a model showcase in our nation’s capital.  Instead, DC schools are among the worst in the country on many fronts, dropout rate, school violence, as well as performance on standardized tests.  Rhee, a political appointee, vowed to close underperforming school, fired more than 200 teachers she deemed ineffective, and favored adopting a merit pay system tied to student performance on standardized tests.  Her three year tenure came to an end when Mayor Adam Fenty lost a primary bid for re-election.

Rhee’s educational background is not that of a professional educator. Her graduate degree from Harvard University' s Kennedy School of Government is in public policy.  Many teachers don’t believe that she truly understands the battles classroom teachers face on a daily basis. They consider her tactics to be heavy handed.  It is difficult to change an entrenched culture and make a major overhaul in public education without getting all of the constituent groups( particularly teachers) to buy into what you are doing.  Just ask New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  He has built his hard handed reputation by blaming the NJEA (teachers union) for the ills of the state’s public schools as well as the state’s pension fund shortfall.  He also tried to blame the union for New Jersey not receiving federal Race to the Top funding.  He is currently attempting to eliminate tenure among the state’s public school teachers ( This is an issue that can be debated at another time). Interestingly enough, Michelle Rhee showed up last week as a guest of honor on the dais as Christie gave his State of the State speech before the state legislature in Trenton. Additionally, recently sworn in Florida Governor Rick Scott has tapped Rhee to serve on his education transition team.

What else is Ms. Rhee up to?

Recently Michelle Rhee announced that she has established an organization, Students First. According to recent news reports she has raised over $1 million and obtained over 100,000 followers. Her ultimate goal is to raise $1 billion and use the funds to focus on the teaching profession and parent involvement in education.

Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician in colonial Philadelphia and a signer of the Declaration of Independence wrote that he believed that America would only succeed as a democracy with an educated population.  The success of public education in this country and the direction in which it travels will require the involvement of all participants, administration, teachers, students and parents. Unfortunately, the  education of America’s children has become politicized and while no elected official ever states that he or she is against education, schools and teachers are perennial targets. Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch stated that “public schools cannot be reformed without public support.”

 ( Photo Credit- Iris Harris- US Dept. of Commerce)