Janey Leaves With Plans Unfinished

But several years later, Wilson is no closer to gaining more autonomy. At the D.C. Board of Education meeting last week, Janey mentioned the proposal again, but it was unclear what its fate would be.

"He had a willingness to be creative and innovative, but we didn't have the action arm," Reilly said.

A middle school reading teacher who ascended to the top education posts in Boston and Rochester, N.Y., Janey grew up in a public housing complex in Boston. On the job in the District, Janey wore cuff links, monogrammed shirts and silk ties in solid bright colors.

Upon his arrival in the District in August 2004, he immediately visited three Northwest schools in poor condition, telling the media that he was disgusted with the conditions and vowing to immediately make repairs. But it still takes more than a year, on average, for repairs at schools across the city to be completed, though Fenty recently announced "blitz" repair programs.

At the time, Janey won high praise from then-council member Fenty, who applauded his eagerness and quick response. "I think he handled it well by physically getting out there," Fenty said then. "Oftentimes superintendents are a little bit removed from problems."

Iris Toyer, co-chair of Parents United for D.C. Public Schools, recalled that Janey, in one of his earliest appearances, addressed parents and students at Stanton Elementary, a poor and nearly all African American school in Southeast plagued by low test scores.

"He talked about his own beginnings," Toyer said. "I think people felt like he was a real brother who had not risen to a high level of government and forgotten what it was like to still struggle."

Toyer said she did not agree with how Fenty handled Janey's departure. "It's plain ol' good manners to me," she said. "There's a way you terminate people, and the activities that lead up to it that are not designed to humiliate a person."

Results from the first year of the new standardized test found just 19 of 146 campuses meeting academic benchmarks. Though disappointed, Janey said the results were simply a benchmark and showed the difficulty of the task.

"He showed courage with his willingness to raise the standards, in order to get a good look at where we were," said Sekou Biddle, who represents District 2 on the school board. "How many people would say, 'Let me do something so it looks like we're doing worse?' "