There is a piece published in yesterday’s Washington Post that suggests criticisms of Michelle Rhee’s approach to reform. It’s an interesting article that deserves attention, even though I think it’s a too-facile way to critique Rhee. What it does do for me is raise some questions, which I offer at the end of this post.
Very briefly (because you really should read the piece itself) the reporter describes a high-minority, high-poverty school in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland (Montgomery County School District): “At Broad Acres eight years ago, test scores were so low that the state threatened to take the place over. [The Superintendent and Principal] decided to remake the school. They negotiated with the teachers union to add extra hours to the workweek for extra pay. … Rhee’s faceoff with the Washington Teachers’ Union creates a dynamic different from the cooperation” in Montgomery County.
The article also describes the way that the school district demands high expectations but does so in a way that is caring and responsive to the needs of teachers and students.
The reporter promises a follow-up article on Sunday, based on visits to a DC district school.
I know Superintendent Rhee has a lot of friends who blog here, and I expect that they will read this article and think, “But DC was (and is) much more dysfunctional that Montgomery County ever was.” That is, I think, true. If Rhee eases off on the heavy-handed stuff, she will undoubtedly lose something.
But is the Washington Teachers’ Union that much different than the one in Montgomery? Are the students and teachers that much different than at Broad Acres? And, most importantly, isn’t there an obvious limit to how much can be accomplished in DC by banging heads? Can a school like Broad Acres be created and sustained in an environment marked by distrust?
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Thanks for the post…good and fair questions.
Montgomery county is worlds away from DC schools though Broad Acres may be very similar to many schools in DC (I graduated from Montgomery County High School). The teacher and principal pool in Montgomery County could not be more different (not to mention the overall culture in the districts)…it’s like East Palo Alto and Palo Alto.
I think time will tell on the strategies that Rhee is using to move the district. My guess is that a little more diplomacy might be helpful but I am sure glad that she is pushing as hard as she has been. The school reform movement needs more Rhee’s pushing the envelope. It sure is clear that most of the other strategies have not worked. I also think that every school is a bit different so any district will need a variety of strategies to employ depending on the context. I’m also guessing that Rhee might agree with all that happened at Broad Acres and may be using the same strategy for some of the DC schools. Too many kids are failing to get what has been promised by our urban public education systems.
Collaboration and cooperation are always desirable. Usually, after confrontation there is negotiation. But until the storming part of change has its day, norming does not occur.
So, it seems, the issue is less about the individuals in the drama, and more about the change process itself.
My Swedish grandma would say “There is more than one way to pluc a goose.”
Personally I admire Michelle Rhee. Probably not for the reasons one would assume, but because she is passionately taking on reform for D.C.’s schools. Her techniques are controversial. I guess that’s what it’s like when your a change agent. Would that work everywhere? Maybe not. I would argue that not every school district is in such education crisis either.
If Michelle Rhee gets results? More power to her. If someone else is successful changing education for the better using different tools? Good for them!