Arne Duncan Wants Michelle Rhee to Stay in D.C.

All this 'press' that Michelle Rhee have received over the past several months...to a parent of children who attend DC public schools, and am very closely related to public school teachers...is absolutely maddening. YES...I do agree that DCPS needed to have a complete overhaul. My husband taught Special Ed for four years within some of the toughest schools, as did my mother(Douglass Center) once Fenty and Rhee took over. My own children attended Langdon Elementary in NE DC until last year, when the changes byt Rhee and her administration created such chaos in that building by making it an Educational Center, Pre-K - 8. Please note, the school consolidation was not a 'novel' idea, brought into existence by the Fenty administration...or Rhee. In fact, a more 'civilized' plan had been in the works by the previous Superintendent. We were promised schools that would have more resources, more extra-curricular activites and first class schools. Last year, Langdon's budget was decreased, teachers were let go right after school started, and we were once again without a foreign language...YES, no foreign language. The atmosphere of that school...went down. Langdon had once been a 'Blue Ribbon' school...that I was proud and happy to send my children to. That Elementary school was not by any means suitable for an Education Center...not in that environment. The Rhee administration did not provide the financial support that is so desperately needed. As a result, I entered my children into the lottery, and all four are now students of John Eaton. DISPARITY STILL REMAINS IN DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

I take more of an issue with Rhee on her firing of teachers...and yes, I do agree that there were teachers that were not doing their jobs. The fact remains that there are far more issues with our inner city learners than teachers. Education begins at home; and there are decades of social ills facing the needy families in Washington, DC. The drug and gang epidemic have unleashed a generation of children for whom their most stable adult...is their teacher. There are students who come to school every day without the basic needs being met at home, or any sense of security...which makes it so difficult for them to learn. After these teachers are fired, are they replaced with seasoned teachers with knowledge of how to deal with urban learners?? No, they are replaced with very young (lower paid), inexperienced teachers who have no idea how to relate to urban children. Many teachers are shellshocked with our children, as I have heard reports of them crying in classrooms. What progress has this process made. She quotes higher test scores...but she isnt referencing the DC CAS results - WHICH DETERMINE WHAT SCHOOL MAKE AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress)! Only improvements were seen in schools in predominantly White areas. Rethink Rhee...and her 'Reform.' Its not what you think!

MCS0227 of DC 6:55PM September 30, 2010