Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
Though Christine O’Donnell’s primary win yesterday in Delaware is quite clearly the leading news story of the 2010 election right now--and for good reason--there was another consequential election result yesterday, which has big implications for a set of policies that have come to be identified as conservative, even though they should be nonpartisan: school reform policies.
Adrian Fenty's loss (53% to 46%) to councilman Vincent Gray in yesterday's Washington DC mayoral primary may shape the state of the school reform debate in this country. Both men are democrats, but Fenty was a steadfast backer of education reform. His decision in 2007 to bring on Michelle Rhee as his school chancellor, and back her intrepid decisions to shut down dozens of failing schools and fire hundreds of ineffective educators, made DC ground zero in the vibrant debates about school reform--thanks to Rhee's sometimes hard-nosed and aggressive policies, test scores in the district began to rise, the gap between white and black scores narrowed, and teachers were evaluated, for the first time, based on the success of their students.
Unflinchingly backing Rhee's policies was a controversial move on Fenty's part, a double-edged sword. It ultimately lost him the love of the teacher's unions and most of the city's black voters, who began to see him as arrogant, divisive, and condescending (the same words they typically use to describe Rhee herself). Still, Fenty's backing of Rhee also ensured that DC became not just the epicenter of debates about school reform, but the very model for reform itself. Rhee's policies are the same ones President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have embedded in their Race to the Top program.
Though victor Vincent Gray, who will be DC's next mayor, says that he is committed to school reform, he has not stated whether he will keep Rhee in her position as schools chancellor. While some are arguing that Gray can continue Rhee's policies without necessarily having her on board in his administration, I do think that Rhee is a critical player in all of this: it takes a certain hard-edged toughness to take on the teacher's unions and enact the policies that she did. That toughness made Rhee unique, it defined her as a leader--a perhaps irreplaceable leader.
In the world of education policy, all eyes have been fixed on DC since 2007, and they probably are now more than ever. Since DC is the leader in school reform, Rhee's fate will have great implications for the future of school reform nationwide. Let's hope Gray keeps her on board.
- Comment (8)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
"School reform," "dozens of failing schools," "ineffective educators," people living with their parent(s) until they're in their thirties, people graduating while unable to read their diploma......
Can We please change the voting requirements to more than just turning eighteen?
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
Oh boy, I'd meant to follow the results of this but it slipped my mind. You are sure right, Emily. I think they need to keep Rhee, not just her ideas. Her "I mean business" attitude reminds me of all the things I like about Chris Christie. They both seem to know that what they are doing actually *serves* people, and so they don't back down. I know nothing about Fenty, but I do deeply admire his support of Rhee, which came at great personal/political expense, obviously. Thanks for posting about this.
May '10
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
1) Nope, Jimmuh Cartuh, because the VRA was re-authorized a couple of years back.
2) This one does indeed bother me, because it is transparently obvious to anyone who followed the Fenty race that the entirety of Gray's campaign was built around firing Rhee in exchange for teacher union support. As usual, the kids pay the penalty, just as they have for Obama's/Duncan's surrender regarding the DC voucher program.
3) If Obama cared at all about DC kids, he'd find someone to sponsor a bill to pull the DC school district away from the mayor's office and put Rhee in charge, in the same way as the feds take over the finances when the locals drive the government into insolvency.
Edited on Sep 15, 2010 at 2:03pmRe: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
Ursula, what a great point! Rhee and Christie DO have a lot in common, like the courage to take on the teachers' unions and their toughness. If Gray fires Rhee, maybe Christie will hire her!
Jimmy, you're comment reminds me of Mark Steyn's very funny column, The Geriatric Teenager, where he concludes that adolescence ends somewhere in the 27-36 age range. Here's the beginning of the column:
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
That's interesting, Duane--and I wonder if Obama is willing to put himself on the line for DC kids.
So you think that mayoral control of the schools is a bad idea? Back in 2007, when mayoral control of the schools was established in DC, I think conservatives were excited about the measure. Pat Mara, a conservative who ran for the DC council in 08 (and lost) told me that mayoral control means more accountability for the schools, more reforms, etc. But I guess it depends on who the mayor is!
Barring your solution, I think the DC council plans to review (in the 2011-2012 school year) the law which established mayoral control of schools in 07. I'm eager to see how that plays out.
Jul '10
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
"...and I wonder if Obama is willing to put himself on the line for DC kids."
If history is any indication, Obama will throw the kids under the bus.
May '10
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
Finally - a thread not soiled by Delaware (oh...sorry).
If the new DC mayor is really enough of an idiot to fire Michelle Rhee, does anyone want to do an over/under on how many nanoseconds it will take her to find another job? My son goes to a charter school here in South Carolina. The state severely handicaps the charter school movement here, and the teachers don't even have collective bargaining rights. We'll take her.
Jul '10
Re: Adrian Fenty's Loss and the Future of School Reform
Michele Rhee is doomed in DC, let's face it, for the overwhelming number of teachers and education related public employee union drones the school system is a place to accumulate an overly generous pension while working 9 months a year. The victims, or if you must, the students, are not even a secondary consideration. Rhee's problem was she thought the victims were not actually disposable fodder for the prisons, stripper poles, and job corps camps of a depressing imitation of Eurabia, but education worthy citizens of a republic in the new world. Holding the teachers and the students to standards was an error from which she could not recover, next thing you know someone will suggest the underclass is entitled to school choice and literacy!