Response to comments on my Michelle Rhee post

Response to comments on my Michelle Rhee post

Posted on 14. Nov, 2009 in Public Innovation, Role of Government, Social Impact Measurement

Thanks for your comments; it’s clear that you are very passionate about the state of education in Washington, D.C. I welcome this kind of dialogue on the blog, and am glad that you have contributed.

While I absolutely hear your points, I remain committed to my claim that Ms. Rhee is a public innovator. The D.C. public schools are notorious for failing to prepare their students for success. The study that Richard cited in his comment notes that D.C. students scored lower than students in most other urban districts on a nationally administered test; in addition, D.C. students have historically fallen far behind the average of their peers nationally in terms of high school graduation and post-secondary graduation, and have been much more likely to be unemployed. When one considers that D.C. spends more than all but two states per student on public education, and nearly $5,000 more per year than the national average, these shortcomings seem even more poignant; it seems clear that D.C. hasn’t had anything like an ‘invest in what works’ mindset in the past that could benefit students. Students and parents have begun to flow out of the school system, presumably because they were fed up with the status quo, and into charter schools and other types of schools. Given this information, and the state of affairs when Ms. Rhee was named chancellor, it seems hard to imagine that she could really do more damage to students on a macro scale than has already been done. For decades, children have received atrociously sub-par education in the DCPS, and their parents have often lacked recourse to address the situation. Michelle Rhee decided that somebody had to do something about it.

After years of failure at DCPS, it seems the least we can do is give her a full chance to demonstrate the value of her decisions. It’s extremely challenging to assess impact on social issues, as we all know, and expecting her to have turned around the lumbering ship of public education in less than three years is, frankly, unreasonable.

While I am certainly not asserting that her approach is perfect or even close to proven yet, the fact that she is putting a stake in the ground about the dire need to do things differently makes me want to hang on and see what comes out of it. Innovation drives change; it’s what this country is built on! No, the strategy and implementation plans are not fully in place, and yes, she has burned many bridges with her tactics. Nevertheless, it seems that without such a radical approach, change on any notable scale would probably be impossible to achieve. The option of continuing with the schools as they were would have been, to me, the work of yet another government official who tiptoed around the edges until her tenure was complete. While we wait for more evidence of results, we should see if she continues to refine her thinking in any way. A big part of successful social innovation is continuous improvement, informed by data.

I hope that Michelle Rhee continues to improve her practices and further adopt the principles of public innovation. For now though, I think she is someone we can look to as we consider how to break with inherited traditions of bureaucratic inertia and move toward thinking about government as a catalyst for and investor in finding and supporting solutions that work.

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3 Responses to “Response to comments on my Michelle Rhee post”

  1. E Favorite

    16. Nov, 2009

    Andrew, in your defense of Ms Rhee against her detractors, you say, Given…the state of affairs when Ms. Rhee was named chancellor, it seems hard to imagine that she could really do more damage to students on a macro scale than has already been done.”

    Hard to imagine, yes, but true. You have determined that “the system” damaged the children. That’s not a given. Certainly the children have been damaged and certainly the school system hasn’t prevented it from happening, but to presume that the schools are responsible for the breakdown of the social system is unrealistic, just as unrealistic as it is when Rhee says:
    “As a teacher in this system, you have to be willing to take personal responsibility for ensuring your children are successful despite obstacles…You can’t say, ‘My students didn’t get any breakfast today,’ or ‘No one put them to bed last night,’ or ‘Their electricity got cut off in the house, so they couldn’t do their homework.” (The Atlantic, 11/08) http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/michelle-rh... [continued]

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  2. E Favorite

    16. Nov, 2009

    [continued] I know kids who have gone all the way through the DC system and gotten into premier colleges. They did well on their SATs, learning from some of the same teachers as kids who didn’t so nearly as well. How did that happen? No one wants to address that question because it doesn’t have a simple, politically correct answer that can be fixed by a reformer.

    No one expects Rhee to have “turned around the system” by now. Who said that? No one. We want the damage to stop so we can start rebuilding. We here in DC know that she’s made a bad situation worse by demonizing and demoralizing teachers, disregarding parental concerns and upsetting student learning by, for instance, holding a RIF in October, ending some classes in midstream, while doubling and tripling others.

    Did you know that Rhee said:
    “…cooperation, collaboration and consensus-building are way overrated.” http://aspenedsummit.blogspot.com/2008/09/panel-d...
    [continued]

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  3. E Favorite

    16. Nov, 2009

    [continued] This isn’t a “radical approach,” it’s hubris and disrespect. No one who had the interests of children in mind would flaunt such behavior as a good example for schoolchildren or anyone.

    Did you know that hundreds of STUDENTS marched to DCPS headquarters in defense of their RIFd teachers? She has alienated parents, students and teachers. Did you know that? Please read Bill Turque’s articles in the Washington Post. He is an investigative reporter who reports facts, not Rhee spin.

    Your article and response is all about an ideal of social innovation and unfortunately, you’re all wrong about Rhee. It’s a huge disappointment, I know, I experienced it about a year ago. Since then I’ve just wanted her to get out. The longer she’s here, the worse the clean-up operation will be.

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