Michelle Rhee Leaving DC Public Schools

Sorry to see Chancellor Michelle Rhee leave DC Public Schools.  For those students who went to DC public schools whose Principals did not have the luxury of selectively choosing their students or, for that matter, their teachers, Ms Rhee was a ray of hope in a District known for dismally failing the majority of its students.  Many educators have argued that Ms Rhee was not progressive enough in her views and did not operate from a position of democracy, equity, and fairness, especially in her relations with DC teachers.  The reality on the ground in much of the DCPS has been a culture of violence, high absenteeism, low graduation rates, dismal academic performance across the disciplines, and some grossly incompetent teachers who could not be removed for virtually any reason.  Ms Rhee understood that to break the calcified cycle of failure more was needed than holding hands and singing Kumbaya.  Her style was sometimes abrasive and she made mistakes and I shudder to think what the DCPS will become without her.