Michelle Rhee Reportedly Prepares To Leave CEO Job At StudentsFirst, Group She Founded
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Former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee has told people close to her that she is preparing to step down as CEO of StudentsFirst, the advocacy organization she created after leaving her chancellor post, according to three sources close to the organization.
Rhee is expected to remain active on StudentsFirst's board after she steps down, likely by the end of this year. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of Rhee's move.
Francisco Castillo, spokesman for StudentsFirst, said in a statement to The Huffington Post: "Michelle remains fully committed to education reform and leading StudentsFirst." He declined to elaborate.
StudentsFirst is preparing to hire a new president to help manage the organization's day-to-day functions, a staffer told HuffPost. "The organization is near the finish line with a viable candidate and hope to be in a position to announce it very soon," said the staffer, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak about the process.
As Washington's schools chief, Rhee's rhetoric about firing bad teachers angered many. But she also rose to national prominence with network television appearances and, most notoriously, a Time magazine cover depicting her holding a broom -- ostensibly for sweeping away the worst teachers.
In recent months, as local media have reported that StudentsFirst is winding down activities in at least four states, Rhee has taken on other jobs. It was recently reported that she would become board chair of St. Hope Public Schools, a charter school chain run by her husband, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (D). (Rhee recently changed her name to Johnson, but she is continuing to use Rhee professionally.) This week, Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. announced Rhee would join the company's board.
"She's been really brutally attacked personally, and StudentsFirst has not been as effective as she wanted," said a former prominent StudentsFirst staffer, who declined to be named, wanting to preserve relationships in education reform. "It's been frustrating. It's not totally shocking that eventually even she would decide to step away."
If Rhee steps aside, the organization would be without its main attraction. StudentsFirst has recently pulled out of states such as Minnesota and Florida, and its relationship with a New Jersey partner organization ended about a year ago. It's unclear whether StudentsFirst will draw as much attention without its famous founder.
"In practice, this has always been about Michelle," said the former staffer. "I'm not claiming that she's egomaniacal, but the power of this movement has been that this is a Democratic teacher of color, and so the ability of the traditionalists to write all this Michelle Rhee Reportedly Prepares To Leave CEO Job At StudentsFirst, Group She Founded: