interesting: every dcps parent i talk to in person supports rhee

Anonymous
13:46 - Please tell us what Rhee ruined at your child's school (and if possible what school it is). That would help undecided voters.

I will say that almost all of the parents of young kids in my neighborhood (mostly whites who have moved there in the last several years) support Fenty/Rhee, sometimes reluctantly. I do know one parent with a kid in the third grade who praised Clifford Janney and was down on Rhee. Don't know how she's voting but I would assume Gray.
Anonymous
well, you didn't talk to ME. i'm white, i live in ward 6, my kid goes to a DCPS. i'm undecided, but leaning towards grey. everyday, rhee does something to annoy me. she has to be the stupidest "smart" person in town. her campaigning for fenty in total violation of the spirit of the hatch act could be the last straw for me.

plus, i think she takes credit for a lot of the things clifford janney did. we should get him back.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Rhee is doing a great job. Who else is the alternative?


According to you only GOD would suffice.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Rhee is doing a great job. Who else is the alternative?
Charter schools. 40% now. Why not 50? 60? Universal pre K law will likely spur even more new charters and expand existing ones. Even if it means more church basements. There is plenty of money floating around the ed-reform-esphere for good schools.

I'm undecided too. But I'm tired of the implication that I don't love my children or I'm somehow an ignorant (black) racist for non jumping on Fenty's Rhee-or-Chaos bandwagon.

My problem is with Fenty. I don't trust his judgement to hold Rhee, or anyone, accountable with anything other than his ego. There have been too many mystery hirings (Hartsock), firings (Ray) and resignations (last head of office HIV/AIDS).

It's pitiful that Rhee may have cancelled her wedding to stump for him. (Total speculation.)

If Fenty wants to extort me into voting for him just for Rhee, I may just call his bluff and go Gray.
Anonymous
just because clifford janey did good things does not mean rhee should go. means she's keeping in place good things he did. in alot of ways, she's continuing alot of his agenda. now, rhee has terrible PR, should not be campaigning for fenty, sticks her foot in her mouth every opportunity she gets...but she has made some hard decisions that needed to be made. i know some of the principal firings/moves have been controversial but alot of them had to happen.

i liked janey but the pace of reform under him was too slow.

i do think the fenty election will be a referendum on rhee.

parent of dcps student.
Anonymous

I didn't say it was a rational position; I was just describing the phenomenon. Most DCPS parents support Rhee because they realize she's the best hope for turning around the system. In the opposite camp, you have folks who want the same kind of reform we've had for the last 20 years: a new chancellor is appointed to much fanfare, then is turned into a bunching bag when he/she tries to actually *reform* the system, followed by a backing off in the face of the powerful interests (i.e. teacher's unions).

Everyone's in support of "reform" so long as nothing ever changes.

Your entire statement is irrationale, at best. First you said that charter school parents were anti-Rhee. When you were called on that, you changed to something entirely different. As to your new position, most DCPS parents do not support Rhee. Your world and small sampling of firends are not representative of most parents. A group of ten does not make up "most". Moreover, if Rhee has obtained so much support from (your words) most DCPS parents, why is she only campaigning in Ward 3. It hsa already been reported that she will not campaign in Wards 4, 5, and 6. It is obvious that she will not campaign in 7 and 8, but what about 2 and 3. So in the world of Rhee and yours, Ward 3 is the representative of most. Yes, I understand, and everyone else is unimportant.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:just because clifford janey did good things does not mean rhee should go. means she's keeping in place good things he did. in alot of ways, she's continuing alot of his agenda. now, rhee has terrible PR, should not be campaigning for fenty, sticks her foot in her mouth every opportunity she gets...but she has made some hard decisions that needed to be made. i know some of the principal firings/moves have been controversial but alot of them had to happen.

i liked janey but the pace of reform under him was too slow.

i do think the fenty election will be a referendum on rhee.

parent of dcps student.


Is she the only thing. What about the person he named as his Homeland Security Director. She has no, nada, non, ni experience in security, law enforcement, policing, fire fighting, etc. She was a friend of a buddy. My goodness, DC is the number 2 target for terrorist in this country and we get Peggy Sue for Homeland Chief. What a joke. What about the Housing Authority guy Fenty terminated after he began investigating the 85million dollar illegal contracts. What about K. Valentine who stole DC employees premium deposits for disability and life insurance, yikes. What about his appointee to the local level of EEOC (OHR), the man testified at his confirmation hearing that he had not heard of Title VII but he was a fast learner. And the list does not stop with the few I named. So why is Rhee the only person in which Fenty's judgment of directors should be questioned.
Anonymous
Is she the only thing. What about the person he named as his Homeland Security Director. She has no, nada, non, ni experience in security, law enforcement, policing, fire fighting, etc. She was a friend of a buddy. My goodness, DC is the number 2 target for terrorist in this country and we get Peggy Sue for Homeland Chief. What a joke. What about the Housing Authority guy Fenty terminated after he began investigating the 85million dollar illegal contracts. What about K. Valentine who stole DC employees premium deposits for disability and life insurance, yikes. What about his appointee to the local level of EEOC (OHR), the man testified at his confirmation hearing that he had not heard of Title VII but he was a fast learner. And the list does not stop with the few I named. So why is Rhee the only person in which Fenty's judgment of directors should be questioned.


Right ON!! but since this is a DCPS thread, we are going with how badly rhee is doing her job. i appreciate that she wants to shake things up, but i don't like her BS accounting tricks and how she shifts blame to the council when she's backed into a corner. she has as little real world experience as fenty. good luck with your new lives, the both of yas!
Anonymous
[
I didn't say it was a rational position; I was just describing the phenomenon. Most DCPS parents support Rhee because they realize she's the best hope for turning around the system. In the opposite camp, you have folks who want the same kind of reform we've had for the last 20 years: a new chancellor is appointed to much fanfare, then is turned into a bunching bag when he/she tries to actually *reform* the system, followed by a backing off in the face of the powerful interests (i.e. teacher's unions).

Everyone's in support of "reform" so long as nothing ever changes.

Lord this argument is so trite. Come up with something different. Do you really think, in your heart of all hearts, people want a poor education for their children. Most people, from the rich to the poor, want what is best for their children. By repeating that same old lie that people want a school system that is dysfunctional at best, is very disingenuous. It's a slogan that is worthy of "if you are not with me you are against me". Or, whatever stupid crap Bush said to all of the non-supporters of the Iraq war. And guess right, we were right and he was wrong. But, it took so many terrible things to go wrong for people who originally drank the Bush-Iraq kool-aid to see the bullcrap. Rhee is no messiah. I don't expect any chancellor to be a messiah. I also know what I want for my child is better than what both Rhee and DCPS has to offer. It's not 20 years backwards, but 20 years forward. Rhee cannot get us there. How can she, when she has made so many enemies and has personally become the distraction. The leader cannot be the distraction.
Anonymous
Rhee is not qualified to run DCPS. She only has TWO years experience teaching in an actual classroom. She has a BA in government and an MA in Public Policy.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:[
I didn't say it was a rational position; I was just describing the phenomenon. Most DCPS parents support Rhee because they realize she's the best hope for turning around the system. In the opposite camp, you have folks who want the same kind of reform we've had for the last 20 years: a new chancellor is appointed to much fanfare, then is turned into a bunching bag when he/she tries to actually *reform* the system, followed by a backing off in the face of the powerful interests (i.e. teacher's unions).

Everyone's in support of "reform" so long as nothing ever changes.


Lord this argument is so trite. Come up with something different. Do you really think, in your heart of all hearts, people want a poor education for their children. Most people, from the rich to the poor, want what is best for their children. By repeating that same old lie that people want a school system that is dysfunctional at best, is very disingenuous. It's a slogan that is worthy of "if you are not with me you are against me". Or, whatever stupid crap Bush said to all of the non-supporters of the Iraq war. And guess right, we were right and he was wrong. But, it took so many terrible things to go wrong for people who originally drank the Bush-Iraq kool-aid to see the bullcrap. Rhee is no messiah. I don't expect any chancellor to be a messiah. I also know what I want for my child is better than what both Rhee and DCPS has to offer. It's not 20 years backwards, but 20 years forward. Rhee cannot get us there. How can she, when she has made so many enemies and has personally become the distraction. The leader cannot be the distraction.

Thanks for this perfect example of the phenomenon at work: Remember. Everything's about Rhee. Forget about the necessary reforms. We won't even talk about that. Rhee's personally unpalatable. That's all that matters.
Anonymous
Thanks for this perfect example of the phenomenon at work: Remember. Everything's about Rhee. Forget about the necessary reforms. We won't even talk about that. Rhee's personally unpalatable. That's all that matters.

I think you're misunderstanding. The pp named a particular characteristic of Rhee--her tendancy to alienate those she needs as allies--as a reason that she's not the appropriate leader going forward.

I know I'm not the only person who thinks that Rhee has done some good things, but can't be counted on to finish the job.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am a DCPS parent with kids at Eaton and Deal and I do not support Rhee or Fenty.


Why is that? Didn't Rhee grant Eaton autonomy? Hasn't the Chinese language program at Eaton flourished under Rhee? Didn't Rhee encourage Eaton's application to become a "World Cultures" school? Haven't test scores gone up considerably at Eaton under Rhee? Isn't the current principal (put in during Rhee's tenure) much better than the previous two? Parents seem to like her much better, than the prior principal, Drakeford. I thought at least 1 pretty horrible teacher finally got fired under Rhee, which parents had been asking for for years. And, the playground and whole landscape at Eaton was recently redone because of a commitment Fenty made at the annual block party. My understanding was that Fenty moved Eaton up in the playground re-do list, in fact, moved up Eaton so fast that the school's parents had very little input into how the new design went.

So, with kids at Eaton, why are you unsupportive of Rhee and Fenty?



Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for this perfect example of the phenomenon at work: Remember. Everything's about Rhee. Forget about the necessary reforms. We won't even talk about that. Rhee's personally unpalatable. That's all that matters.

I think you're misunderstanding. The pp named a particular characteristic of Rhee--her tendancy to alienate those she needs as allies--as a reason that she's not the appropriate leader going forward.

I know I'm not the only person who thinks that Rhee has done some good things, but can't be counted on to finish the job.


She's done great things, but in doing them has pissed some people off, which, in my opinion, was an unfortunate but unavoidable side-effect of doing anything. (There's a reason that school reform in DC has been completely ineffective over the last 30 years. We bring in someone new; that person suggests changes; that person is immediately shown the door by the forces of stasis). Hopefully Gray will play against form, and appoint someone who's not afraid to piss off the right folks as well. Otherwise, we'll get a lovely period of back-slapping and glad-handing as the kids continue to get the shaft.

Meanwhile, folks like yourself don't support her because she can't be counted on to "finish the job." Why won't she be around? Because she's angered too many of the wrong people--by continually doing the politically difficult thing.

It's just like with Fenty: obviously his positives are in the shitter, but all polls show an incredibly favorable view of the *job* Fenty's actually done. Meanwhile, the main stated reason given that voters have a low opinion of them personally is they don't feel he "respects" them.

As ex-DCist and now Guardian UK blogger Ryan Avent put it: "Y'know, I wouldn't respect voters either if they ignored performance and voted based on their perception that I didn't respect them."
Anonymous
Under the new principal (Rhee canned the old one), Stoddert Elementary in Glover Park has a brand new gorgeous building and playground this year. Last year's test scores, under the new principal hired by Rhee, were among the highest in the city, way up from previous years. Not surprisingly, most (not all) Stoddert parents I've talked to support Rhee and are voting for Fenty.
Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools
Go to: