Quelle surprise!: Michelle Rhee says Philly schools on the right track, as the district gets wrecked

[marmar]

Former Chancellor of Washington D.C. schools Michelle Rhee hosted a "Teacher Town Hall" event in Philadelphia Monday night. Rhee joined CNN contributor and Capital Prep Magnet School Principal Dr. Steve Perry and former Washington Teachers Union President George Parker in the hopes of engaging in "an open, honest conversation on ed reform specifically with educators."

During Michelle Rhee's three-year tenure as Chancellor of the Washington, D.C., school district, she ignored teacher-seniority provisions, implemented a generous merit-pay system and caught the attention of the national spotlight as DC's standardized test scores skyrocketed in her first few years on the job.

Soon though, reports of test cheating tainted Rhee's reputation, and by 2010, with the election of a new mayor, she resigned. Some who've followed Rhee's reign closely say she left DC schools in worse shape than when she came. Rhee disagrees, and now advocates for her brand of education reform on the national stage.

Speaking at Temple University's student center Monday night, Rhee, Perry and Parker sought to quell fears about what they called the "misinformation" surrounding the reform conversation. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/59871-former-dc-schools-chancellor-rhee-says-hite-is-on-the-right-track-to-ed-reform