Rhee Watch - May 27

By Jim Stergios
May 27th, 2008

Often critics blame teachers for the failure of our public schools to deliver a high quality education to our inner city students. Some teachers shouldn’t be in their positions, but the fact is there is too little leadership. One leader we are watching closely is Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the D.C. public schools. Smart, tough, strategic and passionate about her charge, we are posting statements that our leaders — our mayors and superintendents — can learn from. From interviews on PBS, Michelle Rhee about her passion for the job, her unwillingness to wait, and the challenge ahead:

“There are 70 percentage points difference between our white kids and our black kids. That makes me so angry.”

“I cannot risk children’s education for very long while they are sitting languishing in an ineffective teacher’s classroom.”

“This is nothing but the result of the adults in the system not doing their jobs.”

See Rhee at the 2008 Better Government Competition, where she will be our keynote speaker.