Advocates Seek More Openness From Rhee's Regime

When Michelle A. Rhee came onto the D.C. school scene last year, many advocates expressed optimism that she would shake up the system. Fourteen months later, they say they feel let down. Parents, educators and other advocates say that more centralized control has led to less candor with the public. There are fewer forums in which to express discontent, they say, and people important in implementing Rhee's ambitious plans -- parents, teachers and students -- sometimes feel marginalized.

The word "transparency" comes up repeatedly in conversations with advocates: The system doesn't have much, they say.

"No one seems to be able to make the school system cough up information," said Mary Levy, director of the Public Education Reform Project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

Some parents say they have noticed what Iris Toyer, leader of Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools, calls "a very top-down approach to managing."

"We want to make sure as parents that we have some input and say, because we're actually the people on the ground," she said. "We certainly hope that Rhee and company will understand going forward that we really want to be partners. We don't want a combative situation."

Cherita Whiting, head of the Ward 4 Education Council, said she shares Toyer and Levy's concerns about whether the chancellor has been listening to parents and acting on their concerns. She also questions Rhee's proposal to base teacher pay on student performance instead of seniority. She pointed out that teaching is just one of several factors affecting student performance.

"Michelle [Rhee]'s not going to fix it in one or two" years, Whiting said. "It's not the fault of the teachers. It's not the fault of the school board." More emphasis needs to be placed on parental involvement, Whiting said. But the school system can seem forbidding to parents who otherwise would be interested and involved in their kids' educations, she said.

"Now you have a new crop of parents . . . and you want to close the door in their face," Whiting said.

Cathy Reilly, director of the Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators, an organization that focuses on high school issues, also said she worries that the schools aren't doing enough to make parents and students feel comfortable at school.

"School climate issues" are a big part of what high schools ought to work on, Reilly said -- things such as security, discipline and safety. She said they need more help in "creating a welcoming and respectful environment."

Reilly said that if teachers will be paid based on student performance, they should be measured "on lots of fronts," not just test scores.

The nonprofit education research organization DC VOICE is studying that issue. Every year, it produces a report about the preparations for the first day of school. This year, though, it also will survey teachers about "how much people feel respected in their jobs, trying to figure out what the best practices are," said Jeff Smith, the group's executive director.

He supports the new pay structure but doesn't want teachers to feel that all that matters is high test scores.

"We don't want teachers to feel that their sole worth is data," he said.

The restructured school board has drawn mixed reviews. It lost much of its power last year when it became a state board charged with oversight rather than policy powers. In November, all its members will be elected; some of the current members are appointed.

"I think they've been doing very well," Levy said. "My concern about the election is that the voters are not going to be paying much attention to whom they're voting for. . . . If it's not broken, why fix it?"

But others have been unhappy with the board and said they think that Rhee has been trying to do too much, too quickly, with no forum for residents to voice their concerns.

"There really is no moderating station for the parents to go to," said Toyer, who opposed the mayoral takeover that led to Rhee's appointment last year. "I think that when you are driving 100 miles per hour, you tend to miss the curves. There's a reason there are speed limits."