Michelle Rhee revolution faces massive threat — and new accusations

[DonViejo]

In Bridgeport, a quiet bipartisan scheme to protect ed reformers' favorite school chief is suspected by critics

BY JOSH EIDELSON

Education reform lightning rod Paul Vallas – who courted controversy helming school districts in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Chicago — isn’t on the ballot tomorrow. But a school board election in Bridgeport, Conn. – the latest district to tap Vallas to oversee reforms — could effectively spell his fate. Tomorrow’s vote will offer the latest referendum on the bipartisan, billionaire-backed mainstream education reform movement, and on a multi-year effort by local Democrats – aided by the likes of Michael Bloomberg and Michelle Rhee — to defeat or disempower labor-backed dissenters.

“As I’ve gone around the country, I always point to Bridgeport as one of the signs that the people can beat the power,” former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education and high-profile reform critic Diane Ravitch told activists on a conference call last month. Tuesday’s election is the latest round in a long-running war over ed reform, and who should shape it, in the largest city in one of the country’s most unequal states.

For the sake of shielding Vallas and his agenda, activists allege that the city’s Democratic machine has acted indifferent or even hostile to defeating Republicans tomorrow.

“What’s at stake is the future direction of Bridgeport schools,” said Connecticut Working Families Party executive director Lindsay Farrell, citing issues including testing and class size. “And I think, in a broader sense, the direction of public education in this country.”

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/04/how_bipartisan_antics_could_save_the_next_michelle_rhee_from_humiliation/

[gopiscrap]

1. good I hope they nail her ass and anybody else pushing for Charters

Charter usually is a code word for either racism or "I wanna make money" of let's fuck over the union.

[Arkana]

2. Rhee's a hack.

She's one of the major problems with how education is viewed--they take an automatically adversarial view of unions and punish the teachers accordingly. I don't know why everyone treats her as some sort of genius.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Part of it was that dumb-assed hero worship documentary

check some of the DU threads from the time -- she had a LOT of cheerleaders here back when she was all hype and image...