Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson discuss education reform
Mayor Kevin Johnson and his fiancée, renown education reformer Michelle Rhee, took the stage Thursday night for their first speaking event in Sacramento at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria to talk about the changing landscape in the world of education.
They held hands, finished each other's sentences, and answered questions from moderator Steven C. Currall, dean of the UC Davis management school as well as some from the crowd of a few hundred attendees. Their appearance came on the heels of the announcement that Rhee's nonprofit educational advocacy organization, StudentsFirst, is now officially headquartered in Sacramento.
The two come from very different backgrounds – Rhee was born into a wealthy family that provided her with a private education while Johnson is a product of the public school system. But their message was the same: Every student should have a good education, no matter where he or she grows up.
Rhee has been in the spotlight for what many deem controversial past practices, and she did not shy away from discussing her political legacy in Washington, D.C., where she most recently worked as public schools chancellor. As she said on Thursday, in the 20 years of her career thus far, she's probably hired and fired more people than anyone else.
In her first year as the chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools, Rhee closed 24 schools, laid off hundreds of