Our mayor now has the future of more than 55,000 school children in his hands. We knew all along that this new governance structure was not going to support the status quo, and on Tuesday we were proven right. As soon as he could, Clifford Janey was sacked in favor of a seemingly untested 37-year old who started a non-profit whose mission is to improve urban public schools with out-of-the-box thinking. Questions have arisen about Michelle Rhee's qualifications, but DC has had "qualified" superintendents for the last 20 years, and look where that has gotten us, in a race to the bottom.
Mayor Fenty is certainly taking a risk by appointing Ms. Rhee, an accomplished and successful professional, but one who has never run a school system. But to the naysayers, I urge DC stakeholders to give her a chance and to do everything possible to support her success. Her success will be our success, for our children will get the education they deserve.
I don't have a crystal ball, but I applaud the Mayor for taking the road "less traveled by," and for pushing change. This appointment is certainly symbolic of the transformation of this city. New blood, energy, creative thinking. All hallmarks of success. We will all be watching to see if the execution is as good as the idea.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment