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Monday, November 7, 2011

Now, for vouchers - Ackerman says school reform is new 'civil-rights movement' | Philadelphia Daily News | 11/07/2011

Now, for vouchers - Ackerman says school reform is new 'civil-rights movement' | Philadelphia Daily News | 11/07/2011:

Now, for vouchers - Ackerman says school reform is new 'civil-rights movement'

Voucher supporters hope that Ackerman
CLEM MURRAY / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Voucher supporters hope that Ackerman's entry into the discussion will tip the legislative balance.
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THE CONTROVERSIAL reforms that Michelle Rhee pushed during her tumultuous tenure as public-schools leader in Washington, D.C., were hardly the last marks she'd make on U.S. public education.

Since resigning last year, Rhee has pushed hard for school vouchers and merit pay for teachers, and has founded StudentsFirst, which pours money into lawmakers' coffers.

Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise then, that, after receiving a $905,000 buyout, Philadelphia's former schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman became a voucher proponent herself.

She inserted herself into the discussion last month, arguing in an Inquirer op/ed that it would take charter schools and vouchers to fix the school district.

"I didn't even see vouchers as a viable option until recently, because my work and my focus