Judging Ms. Rhee

How Mr. Fenty picked his school chief matters less than whether she can do the job.

THERE'S NO excusing the shabby way D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty let school superintendent Clifford B. Janey know that he was out of a job. And it's true that the mayor gave short shrift to consultations with the community and the D.C. Council in the search for a successor; relations with the governing body are too important for the mayor to make that a pattern. But bruised feelings about process are secondary to the interests of city students. What matters as the council debates the confirmation of Michelle A. Rhee as chancellor is her fitness to lead the schools.

There's no question that Ms. Rhee is an unorthodox choice. At 37, she has never managed a school system, her teaching experience is a mere three years and the organization she has led is tiny compared with the sprawling bureaucracy of the D.C. public schools. Yet those familiar with Ms. Rhee and her work as founder and head of the nonprofit New Teacher Project testify enthusiastically to her ability. Among her advocates are school superintendents such as Prince George's County's John E. Deasy and New York City's Joel I. Klein. They know better than anyone the challenges of running a school system, and they are unhesitating in saying that Ms. Rhee is more than capable.

In the world of national education policy, Ms. Rhee is hailed as a visionary with a track record of effectiveness. The New Teacher Project is seen as one of the country's most useful organizations in partnering with school districts for change. Unlike many nonprofits, the project doesn't rely on grants but competes for contracts based on its ability to deliver. Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, said that there are more ways to learn about urban education than running school systems and that Ms. Rhee has been "working with the innards of the beast." The council must ensure a full airing of views from a wide variety of people about Ms. Rhee. In the process it should give more weight to the judgments of those who know her than to uninformed attacks from those who make a cottage industry of naysaying.

Much, of course, depends upon Ms. Rhee. She struck the right note in her introductory speech this week as she addressed directly those to whom she is ultimately accountable -- "the students of D.C." "Get ready to work hard, but also to get stronger. Get ready to be pushed, but also to excel," she said. The secrecy surrounding the search disadvantages Ms. Rhee, and so it will be important for her to quickly make herself known in the community.

There is no doubt that in addition to her own skills, Ms. Rhee will have the strong backing and help of Mr. Fenty. That the mayor yesterday named the highly competent Allen Y. Lew to take charge of the schools' $2.3 billion modernization program was a reassuring demonstration of his commitment to the schools. Mr. Lew had been overseeing construction of the baseball stadium being built for the Washington Nationals. Completion of that project is important, but the mayor, by his move, said the schools are more so.