Today, D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee will announce that she is resigning at the end of this month, nearly four years after she was brought in by Mayor Adrian Fenty to improve the city's languishing public education system: Michelle Rhee to announce resignation as D.C. schools chancellor.
Rhee's controversial, high-profile tenure drew national attention -- landing on the cover of TIME magazine, no less -- and her no-nonsense approach made her a superstar of the education reform movement (and an extremely unpopular with the Washington Teachers' Union).
But with Mayor Fenty, her primary supporter, defeated in September's Democratic mayor primary, it didn't look like she'd have much of a future under presumptive mayor Vincent C. Gray, and news of her departure doesn't come as much of a surprise:
Rhee's tenure was contentious, and she made a lot of enemies. Her decisions may have been unpopular, but you have to give her credit for at least trying something dramatic to shake things up and turn the sinking ship around:
Rhee and presumptive mayor Vincent C. Gray recently reached a "mutual decision" during a phone conversation that it was best for her to step down, said people close to both, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "They both agreed the sooner they could put this to bed, the better for the kids and the community, " an official close to Gray said.
Under the deal, the school system's senior leadership team will also remain in place under Henderson through the school year to reassure parents that there will be minimal disruption.
Gray and Rhee declined to comment Tuesday. But a news conference planned for Wednesday morning appears designed to demonstrate that Rhee, Gray and Fenty are united in pursuing school reform while easing dissension in the community over Rhee's tenure. Fenty, who plans to appoint Henderson to the interim job at Gray's request, is expected at the news conference.
Rhee's goals - higher student achievement, better teachers and greater accountability for their classroom performance - were generally shared by her predecessors. But with new powers putting the struggling school system under mayoral control, Rhee pursued the goals with an unprecedented zeal.The Chancellor will be replaced until at least the end of the school year by Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson, a close associate Rhee hired in her first week on the job. Two questions: where does Michelle Rhee go from here? And what will happen to D.C.'s public schools now? More here: Michelle Rhee will leave plenty of unfinished business in D.C.
She closed more than two dozen schools, fired teachers by the hundreds and spent more than two years negotiating a labor contract that gives principals new control over teacher hiring while establishing a new performance-pay system that ties compensation to growth in student test scores.
Rhee also dramatically expanded the number of spaces in preschool, pre-K and Head Start, and opened the Early Stages diagnostic center to help flag learning disabilities in children ages 2 to 5. She piloted a program of "wrap-around" support services for at-risk middle school kids and launched a program of "themed" schools focusing on science and technology, world cultures and the arts.
UPDATE: Here's an excerpt from Michelle Rhee's official resignation statement, delivered earlier today:
Today, Mayor Fenty, Chairman Gray and I have reached the mutual decision that I will leave my post as Chancellor of the D.C. Public School System. This is not a decision we made lightly. But it is one that I believe is essential to allow Chairman Gray to pursue our shared goal of uniting this city behind the school reforms that are making a difference in the lives of our children. In short, we have agreed — together — that the best way to keep the reforms going is for this reformer to step aside...Read the rest of the statement on her new blog, which officially went live today. You can also now follow her as @m_rhee on Twitter.