Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Rhee security detailed hired. Duct-taped protesters deemed dangerous

RheeFirst!:

Rhee security detailed hired. Duct-taped protesters deemed dangerous.

In order to insure order outside and inside the theater, I’ve hired security people who will be with us all week to provide protection for Michelle Rhee and to provide services as needed to guarantee your safety and enjoyment.

One more myth (about Rhee) bites the dust

“‘Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee [...] failed miserably — as she conceded — in recruiting and training great principals, the key to turning a school around. She relied on a slapdash recruitment process and her instincts about which of the administrators she interviewed would be good and which wouldn’t.’

What’s more, Rhee cleverly dangled small bonuses in front of teachers; and as soon as they accept one of the bonuses, they find out that it has a poison pill inside, namely, the teacher has to give up some of his/her officially-bargained due-process rights that used to be guaranteed to any teacher in case of layoffs or school closings or other things like that.”

Rhee’s expertise on Alabama education and any pay-outs to her challenged

“Why does Alabama need a so-called expert from Washington D.C. to advise us what to do?” said Dr. Henry Mabry, AEA executive secretary. “Her group sneaks into the state to talk about education reform without even informing our state school superintendent and our state school board members.

“Finally, we must ask, who is picking up the tab for Ms. Rhee, who we understand earns more than $1 million a year. Surely Gov. Bentley doesn’t intend to dip into the Education Trust Fund to pay her.”

Sacramento protest: Rhee represents all that is bad with the education reform movement


Photo credit: Sacramento News and Review

“Mayor Kevin Johnson and his wife, Michelle Rhee, played a hometown gig last Wednesday night. But groupies didn’t cheer the couple at the venue. Instead, some 40 silent protesters, wearing masking tape over their mouths and holding anti-Rhee signs, picketed the education event outside

…Protesters like Kate Lenox were critical—she called the event a “sort of a fake, an Astroturf event for an Astroturf organization.” But she also spoke to the issues.

“[Rhee] represents all that is bad with the education-reform movement,” she argued. “She ignores poverty. The biggest determinate for a child’s success in school is income level. Instead of closing a school, schools ought to be given the resources they need to help kids.”

Diane Ravitch debates StudentsFirst lobbyist

Watch Diane Ravitch dismantle Rhee’s proxy, Tim Melton, on issues of teacher tenure, seniority, testing, and teacher evaluation.

From Minnesota Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Tim Melton left the Michigan House of Representatives to become Rhee’s lobbyist after helping her push her agenda through the Michigan legislature. His status status is that of a revolving door lobbyist—called “perhaps the most pernicious lobbying strategy” by ThinkProgress. Convicted and imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave this explanation of how corrupting the revolving door can be: “You know, when you’re done working on the Hill, we’d very much like you to consider coming to work for us.’ Now the moment I said that to them or any of our staff said that to ‘em, that was it. We owned them. And what does that mean? Every request from our office, every request of our clients, everything that we want, they’re gonna do. And not only that, they’re gonna think of things we can’t think of to do.”