WASHINGTON, D.C., June 11, 2008
The Answer To Failed Urban Schools?
Washington's School Chancellor Hopes Her Tough Methods Will Yield Major Results
-
Play CBS Video Video D.C. Schools Face Overhaul Public schools in Washington D.C. were in desperate need of change. So, when Michelle Rhee was appointed chancellor, she did just that and fired many of the city's employees. Wyatt Andrews reports.
-
Washington D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. (CBS)
-
Interactive Education In America Backpack ready? Learn more about education in America through fun facts, national statistics and unusual schools.
"Let me see who's working nicely," Rhee says
Rhee is not doing it nicely, reports CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews.
Just one year into office, Rhee has closed 23 schools, fired 34 principals, offered buyouts to 700 teachers, while pressuring hundreds more to leave-and fired 98 employees at the central school office.
"Drastic change is needed because the situation is incredibly dire," Rhee says.
School reform on this scale was the brainchild of D.C.'s Mayor Adrian Fenty.
"We saw a system where mismanagement reigned," Fenty says.
Fenty's 2006 election mandate to improve the schools was so strong, he got rid of the elected school board and then found Rhee, who for a decade had been running a nonprofit group successfully recruiting thousands of new teachers for urban schools nationwide.
He hired Rhee with orders to take no prisoners.
"Chancellor Rhee and I are saying the days of talk are over … We've gotta move fast," Fenty says.
Chancellor Rhee is convinced that every child-even the most disadvantaged-can learn and achieve if taught by a motivated teacher in a school led by a driven principal.
For example, when Andrews visited DC's Coolidge High School, he found a geometry class on task and well behaved but also a current events class where students were literally screaming out of control.
Rhee argues the difference is the teacher.
"So it's not about this group of kids just happens to want to learn and this group of kids doesn't," she says. "It's about what are we inspiring? What are we doing in the classroom?"
Rhee's angriest critics say all she's produced so far is chaos, and worse, that she fired all those principals without notice or probation.
"When you fire the principals and you don't give reasons why, that's not right," parent Cherita Whiting says.
Lots of other parents though support Rhee's policy of no excuses.
"Whatever is necessary," says Jackie Clopton. "If you're not doing what's best for the kids, then you need to be removed."
"Nobody hired me into this position and said, 'Make the adults feel good, Michelle,' Rhee says. "When the mayor hired me into this job, he said, 'Improve the schools.'"
So she now faces the test of a lifetime. A woman who has never run a school system is testing her theory that better teaching is the answer to failed urban schools.
©MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Comment See all 46 Comments
- Keithle ye good people. We are human beings as my late Aunt told me. I know that my kin from Iraland was dumped here in 1847..we are white ..so what..It don''t matter to me what colour we are..I am legally Blind. The first thing is the voice that tell me their gender.
- Reply to this comment
- A lot of black people don''t like it when whites criticize the behavior of blacks. Even if what you''re saying is 100% true. They can''t call you "racist" fast enough.
Hell, they don''t even want to hear criticism from Bill Cosby & he''s one of them! - Reply to this comment
- People I am applled that that fool forgive me had the ball to say no child left behand anf really I was/am in tears when he saids that. bush he can''t talk right. God Allmighty who taught him. Ye can''t underatand can ye. What happen to America. What..I am poor. Some of us who is Irish American were dumped in America in 1847. Are we illegals...
- Reply to this comment
- We sure could use Michelle Rhee here in Richmond, VA. Your reporters could be describing most of the Richmond City Schools. She could begin with a clean sweep of MLK Middle School. But, also, Rhee could beam with pride over Community High School, and William Fox Elementary School.
- Reply to this comment
- I wish her the best. Sounds like a tough lady.
- Reply to this comment
- Having been a teacher for years,retired. The largest problem with education is Teachers have failed their students,teachers worry more about time off,sick pay,vacation(added in during regular pay for summer months)medical benifits and retire benifits. Most teachers make more then the students''s parents and teaching Mexicans and Aricans has become the # one issue for America,to take money from the older people and cause them to lose their home. If your fair and try to give equal time for education your called racial.As you can see it;s not an easy issue to solve until this country becomes a country for the people ,for the people and by the people.WE CAN''T EDUCATE EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD IN AMERICA AND EXPECT TO DO A GOOD JOB ON OUR TAX SYSTEM AS IT IS.AMERICA SHOULD HAVE HAD A 200 million people population in the 1960''s and stopped anyone else from comming to America until a place opened up for them. OTHERS COUNTRIES HAVE IT AND IT''S WORKIG. TOO LATE FOR AMERICA NOW.
- Reply to this comment
- You go girl!!! I live in a southern rural area, but I used to live in a northeastern city of 100,000 people plus. When I made the decision to move south it was because the schools in the northeast area among other things. Good luck, Michelle, I''m pulling for you!!!
- Reply to this comment
- OMG....someone actually trying to bring some sense back in to the public school system? That won''t last long. By the time the NEA and the ACLU get ahold of this chick, she''ll be lucky if she can get a job at BK.
Another colossal lib failure....government run schools. - Reply to this comment
- It''s not the teachers'' fault. It is the college that trains them, the district that underpays them, the principal that misleads them, the staff that doesn''t support them, the psychologist who isn''t there, the parents that doesn''t care, and the unsupported students that resists them. Teaching is a lose-lose situation-a catch 22.
- Reply to this comment
- More quotes from Bill Cosby at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference.
Posted by Questionnews at 10:42 AM
OK. So what? Why do so many of you feel the need to quote Bill Cosby or Jesse Jackson (when you are not busy calling him a racist) every time something like this comes up? They don''t speak for all black people and I think most blacks understand the nature of the problem, anyway. Also, how come the (greater number of) poor whites who are on welfare or have kids out of wedlock or stay at home and drink beer in their trailer all day are never mentioned by the bigots who are always quick to point out the problems with other groups? The government spends WAY more on them than on blacks. Go ahead and point out that as a percentage blacks make up more. WE KNOW THAT. But don''t come talking like whites aren''t getting handouts. Memo to all of you: Blacks know what''s wrong and the VAST majority want to see changes. All of you smart posters who seem to know everything need to apply all your great ideas in person instead of using your keyboard to show your ignorance. Believe me, people are dying to hear your bright ideas. - Reply to this comment
- Cheddarboy....You just proved my point. You spewed all that racist nonsense and just said you wouldn''t hire a black person but you yell and scream because the black person is not working. That is my point exaxtly! Racism still effects not only blacks but all minorities. Racists like you refuse to give minorities an equal and fair chance.
If you remember in the 90''s when clinton created millions of jobs, gues What, Crime went way down, people went to work and everyone did better. People turn to crime because there are no other options.
When you can''t feed your family because some corporation decided to give your job to china or india, what are you to do? Go to some fast food place and work 60 hours a week and still can''t afford a place to live.
It''s time to wake up! - Reply to this comment
- concorde5 - Why should white business owners have to hire blacks ? There are so many businesses owned by blacks, small percantage compare to white owned businesses but none the less there out there. And guess white, a lot of them don''t hire whites I bet. Reality check it goes both way''s and blacks shouldn''t blame whites for not hiring them. If you own a business, it should be 100% up to you who you hire, you own it. It is not against the law to not like blacks. On a side note, take a look a violent crime statistics, what is it 52% of violent crimes are committed by Blacks but only make up 15% percent of the nation. I wouldn''t take the risk hiring one either. Rasicm isn''t the problem, it''s blacks always bringing it up playing the race card. I find it funny how whites can only be racist to some people. Watch some stand up on BET, see how much they like whites.
- Reply to this comment
- Everyone is failing our children. The parents are failing the government is failing and the teachers are failing our children. We send them to schools where they don''t have books, the school is falling apart, heat doesn''t work in the winter, and we put the dumbest college graduates in charge of educating our children and wonder why they can''t learn.
My son goes to a school that is predominantly Black and Hispanic. I had to go to the superintendent to get books for him! They just had class sets of books and sent my son home every evening with homework for Algebra II and Biology, and chemistry with NO BOOKS! Minority schools are underfunded. We fund schools based on property taxes. So if you live in a wealthy area, your child has books, computers, new schools, and good teachers. If you live in a poor area....Well you get the point.
And we wonder why the children aren''t learning. It''s time to wake up and save our children. we need to stop blaming and talking and start doing. Fund the schools fairly, Pay more and get better teachers instead of these idiots who are currently becoming teachers. When I was in college the only people who went into education were the ones who failed something else. We must pay more and get better teachers! - Reply to this comment
- "With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that ***, and all of them are in jail. Brown versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person''s problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back. . . . They are standing on the corner and they can''t speak English."
"People used to be ashamed. . . . [Today] a woman has eight children with eight different ''husbands,'' or men or whatever you call them now."
"We have millionaire football players who can''t read. We have million-dollar basketball players who can''t write two paragraphs."
"We cannot blame white people%u2026"
More quotes from Bill Cosby at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference. - Reply to this comment
- "People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we''ve got these knuckleheads walking around. . . . The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting."
"I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was 2? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn''t know that he had a pistol? And where is the father?"
"People putting their clothes on backward: Isn''t that a sign of something gone wrong? . . . People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn''t that a sign of something, or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up? Isn''t it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up . . . and got all type of needles (piercing) going through her body? What part of Africa did this come from? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don''t know a . . . thing about Africa."
Quotes from Bill Cosby at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference. - Reply to this comment
- Keithle1.....You are a racist! You are the problem and you don''t even realize it! You want to blame everything on Black boys but you say nothing to the white business owner or manager who won''t even hire black men. Black men get criticized all the time but I work at a company that won''t hire Blacks or any minority unless they are more qualified than whites. Blacks MUST have a college degree to get hired and ignorant uneducated whites get hired all the time with just a high school diploma.
That is just the tip of the iceberg. Racism still exists and it still holds blacks down in MANY more ways that you will EVER admit. Racism is not the only reason for the problem but it contributes greatly to it. Until you take an honest look at the problem, there will never be a solution. - Reply to this comment
- Good luck chancellor and mayor. No matter what some ignorant fools say, most people don''t want to live in that situation and they are not all bad or hopeless.
- Reply to this comment
- When was the last time a black boy (not one born in Africa) was voted valedictorian of any high school in the USA? They do not care.
Posted by Keithle1 at 06:13 AM :
Your comment borders on being the most ignorant I''ve ever read. Have you checked every high school in America? You, that other fool myopinion1 and people like you are way worse for America than ALL the people you disparage. - Reply to this comment
- Patrick Henry
March 23, 1775
"The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed."
"Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom."
"It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains." - Reply to this comment
- Too bad we couldn''t find somebody like this to do the same thing to our corrupt goverment!!!!!!!!!!1!
- Reply to this comment
