Straight talk from Michelle Rhee
Charlie Rose interviewed D.C. Chancellor of Schools Michelle Rhee last night. Not only does she provide an in depth look at D.C. education politics (and what she thinks is the most important way to improve education: recruiting and maintaining high quality teachers) but she even lays into our old friend, Randi Weingarten. Teaser:
I believe that one of the things we have to be cognizant of is believing in charter schools doesn’t mean starting a charter school or two charter schools. If you truly believe in charter schools, then you believe in an open market system where charter schools can flourish. If [Randi Weingarten] really believed in charter schools, is she advocating for a lift of the cap of charter schools? I don’t think so.
Take that, Randi!
Warning: the interview is worth watching through to its 54-minute completion.
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July 18th, 2008 at 10:46 am
One can only hope that Rhee and her staff (most notably Jason Kamras, who is spearheading the contract negotiation process) are somehow able to convince George Parker to accept the ambitious merit-based pay reforms in spite of the efforts of Randi et al. to quash any such reform on the national level. Ironically, in spite of the fact that a great number of DC teachers support the new pay scales (who wouldn’t want a $78k starting salary?), pressure from interests outside of DC is likely to derail the negotiations.
A related issue is the potential pressure that the salary increases will put on DC charter schools. Virtually all charter schools in DC peg their pay scales to DCPS. Idealistic teachers may be attracted to charters whose salaries are 5-10% off from DCPS, but it is highly unlikely that any such teacher will choose a salary that is a full 40% below that of their public-school counterparts. If the DCPS contracts go through, we will witness either a mass teacher exodus from the DC charter schools or a slightly-deferred wave of charter closings as the schools attempt to match the DCPS payscale. Given the precarious financial state of many charter schools, the significant shift in economic incentives for teachers will all but ensure a “cutting of the fat” in the charter school community. This would not be an entirely bad outcome for the District: in spite of a few high performers (KIPP, EL Haynes, etc.), charters perform no better on average than DCPS.
Should the new contract agreement pass, we should anticipate changes not only to DCPS, but to the entire system of charters and traditional public schools. Many of these changes may benefit students in the long-term, but the short-term impact will be one of disruption and discontinuity for children. Neither is likely to have a positive impact on student achievement.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Michelle Rhee has a great understanding our problems in education. But, many of us who are those great, inspirational teachers are not wanted in status quo environments because we believe that our kids can excel. I began a charter school after 2 years of research and established a wonderful nontraditional learning opportunity for at risk kids, kids who had been expelled, kids who had dropped out and returned, and kids who were A students without a negative discipline record....all kinds of kids! We had fun, scores were beginning to rise; they loved attending school. It was a hands on academy based grades 8-12 school. I struggled against the “system” to keep it different, but the school system wouldn’t have it; the state wouldn’t capitalize on its uniqueness. Instead, they wanted to make it like the other schools that had high high dropout rates and discipline problems. I retired after 33.5 years but have the passion to work as a change agent.......that passion is not wanted. My education and record stand strong. I believe in choice and that philosophy places me too far “outside the box.” I see the struggle around me but my thinking is nontraditional and usually brings forth a response: We can’t do that. Those kids can’t do that. How sad that so many educators do not believe that kids can learn and do. They are limited by their teachers and bureaucratic laws. I’ve always held myself accountable.......didn’t need a “system” to hold me accountable. I did not realize how the parents and students regetted when I retired; now I know and I know why. The original teachers I hired are now disillusioned and are losing their creative inspiration. How sad.