NYC Public School Parents: DC Schools Chancellor Likes 40 Kids in Every Classroom

NYC Public School Parents: DC Schools Chancellor Likes 40 Kids in Every Classroom

DC Schools Chancellor Likes 40 Kids in Every Classroom

by Steve Koss

Lest public school parents in Washington, D.C. think that they had won a victory for their children in their electoral disavowal of Adrian Fenty and the resignation of Michelle Rhee, their new, interim schools chief may have just disabused them of that notion. In an interview that took place on January 12 and was published nearly in full on Monday in the Washington Post's "D.C. Schools Insider" column by Bill Turque, acting Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson (and notably a former recruiter and national director of admissions of Teach for America) revealed an education philosophy that was both stunning in its callousness and absurd in its content.

Asked whether she agreed that class size has been overblown as a determinant of students' success, Ms. Henderson began by hedging her response, saying that she was not yet sure where she stood. Undeterred, however, she plowed forward with the following:

At the same time I know for sure when you have an excellent teacher in a classroom -- and I've seen this