MICHELLE RHEE LAUNCHES NATIONAL EDUCATION REFORM MOVEMENT
Washington, DC – “Education should be about the students. Their needs should come before the demands of special interests and big bureaucracies,” said Ms. Rhee. “StudentsFirst will work on behalf of the children, not the adults.
STUDENTSFIRST TO DEFEND THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
JOIN THE MOVEMENT AT WWW.STUDENTSFIRST.ORG
Washington, DC – Michelle Rhee, former Chancellor of Washington, DC Public Schools announced today the launch of StudentsFirst (www.StudentsFirst.org), a national movement to defend the interests of children in public education and pursue transformative reform. StudentsFirst is designed to mobilize parents, teachers, students, administrators, and citizens throughout the country to channel their energy to produce meaningful results on both the local and national level. Ms. Rhee will serve as the organization’s CEO.
“Education should be about the students. Their needs should come before the demands of special interests and big bureaucracies,” said Ms. Rhee. “StudentsFirst will work on behalf of the children, not the adults. For every American child, going to a good school should be a matter of fact, not luck. Our goal is to make the American public education system the best in the world through investing in highly effective teachers, administrators, schools and programs.”
“Michelle Rhee will bring demonstrated excellence backed by enormous energy and commitment to the national discussion on school reform,” said Joel I. Klein, outgoing New York City Schools Chancellor. “What she did in Washington, DC was game changing, which is precisely what the country needs — bold leadership that is unafraid to put students first, regardless how controversial that may prove to be to those who continue to protect a status quo that fails children.”
StudentsFirst seeks to promote education reform through four guiding principles:
· Great teachers make a tremendous difference for students of every background; all children deserve outstanding teachers.
· Attending a great school should be a matter of fact, not luck; every family should be able to choose an excellent school.
· Public dollars belong where they make the biggest difference – on effective instructional programs; we must fight ineffective practices and bureaucracy.
· Parent and family involvement is crucial to increased student achievement, but the entire community must also be engaged in the effort to improve schools.
In the coming weeks, Ms. Rhee will meet with teachers, parents, administrators, lawmakers and citizens to discuss ideas for school reform, share best practices, and develop a set of concrete goals to meet the needs of students.
“Michelle Rhee is on the right track with StudentsFirst,” said Howard Fuller, former Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools and Distinguished Professor of Education at Marquette University. “Students and their families should never be trapped in failing schools. Ensuring that all parents have options for their children is of critical importance. She’s doing the right thing by reaching into the community to work with the relevant constituencies – the educators, parents, administrators, concerned citizens – to join her in what will surely be a transformative campaign for education reform.”
“African American children in public schools systems throughout the country, including Los Angeles, are at the bottom of all overall indices of educational success. Clearly it has been proven repeatedly that African American children can succeed in the classroom regardless of economics and other life obstacles. But innovation is required. It is time for collective outrage and coordinated movements, like StudentsFirst, to finally change the paradigm and help ensure that all children are provided with a quality education,” said Blair Hamilton Taylor, CEO of Los Angeles Urban League.
“Michelle Rhee is back — bolder and even more committed and determined than ever. If education is the civil rights issue of our time then we must forge a new and ever more vibrant movement to march to the beat of this new drum: a beat which puts our students first and declares ‘ya basta’ ( enough!) with status quo,” said Gloria Romero, former California Senator and Director of California Office of Democrats for Education Reform. “I am proud to march shoulder to shoulder with Michelle Rhee and millions of parents and children as we launch this latest chapter in our pursuit of the American Dream and education equality for all. Si se puede — yes we can!”
For more information about StudentsFirst and to join the movement, please visit: www.StudentsFirst.org.
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Comments
May God bless you, I have within my school district have been respresenting children not on an administration level on a trust level our children need us I thank God for you. I will assist in any means neccessary we have God beside us you will make a change.
Thank you!
My sister has a masters degree in Math, teaching at Martin Methodist in Pulaski Tn. She is having to teach college students how to add, subtract, multiply and divide..these students are illerate in basic math skills… are the powers to be creating a class of slaves..non thinkers?
Susan Mc Bride—I can tell you that there are many legitimate reasons for this ( parents refusing to have their child testing for a learning disability in math, parents refusing to have their child evaluated for attention deficit disorder, parents, refusing to have their child retained ) and many illegitimate reasons for this problem – " social promotion " , passing the child on with D minus grades, etc etc.
I can tell you that your sister is not alone, and I would be happy to discuss this problem with her, as many community colleges, colleges and universities scattered around the U.S. deal with these same issues- developmental and remedial class abound across the United States and there are many many reasons for this situation. I can provide much information to your sister, should she decide to contact me. She is not alone.
There is another ugly truth that everyone pretends does not exist.
Would you expect all persons to achieve a rigorous standard of speed at the 100 yard dash? Would you expect all persons to master the double axel (the axel being the most difficult jump in ice skating), would you expect everyone to be able to score "X" number of goals in an ice hockey game, or everyone to successfully make 8/10 free throws on a baseketball court, should everyone be able to play Mozart's clarinet concerto to a predetermined degree of skill, must everyone be capable of sketching a likeness of George Washington that meets a particular criteria…?
Perhaps you recognize my suggestions as absurd, and they are. People differ, and some people, to quote the character Bones from TV, are smarter than other people, just as some musicians are more talented, some artists more talented, and some athletes more talented.
We have created a set of standards that dictate what every child WILL LEARN each year (and in CA they are so numerous that a teacher has little time available to reteach students who fail mastery after a single exposure) and we wonder why some students achieve proficiency and others do not.
Children develop language at their own speed, they walk in their own time, but they are absolutely not permitted to learn in their own time.
While there are a number of factors that interact to produce learning, the simple fact is that some things are hard for me to do. I have some talents and some areas where I am quite backward in my proficiency.
I do not learn, for instance, dance steps in a group lesson that proceeds at a pace that is comfortable for > 50% of the class. I frankly do not believe my clumsiness and difficulty with integrating a sequence of steps and directionality are the fault of the instructor. I do believe that I could achieve a measure of competence with private instruction at a much slower pace and that I might become a capable enough social dancer to enjoy myself. You will probably never find me "dancing with the stars." I simply lack the aptitude.
Learning is complex, people vary greatly, and one-size-fits-all has never been shown to be effective. NCLB has been a regression into backward thinking and practice that is doomed to continue to fail.
We must teach essential skills to mastery if students are to have a foundation upon which to build. If a student needs 2 years or 3 to master first grade math concepts, then so be it. I require at least 3 dance lessons to learn the content most people can learn in one.
As once a Teacher in the public school sys, I saw such atrocities as our simply loosing respect & fear in the schools. In my opinion, once the respect was gone, only fear was left to steer our children into "doing the right thing". This fear AND respect were the very things that gave children the structure that they need & desire. Now there is only chaos & confusion, where the children know that this mess will not work in their best interest, but puts on the face of such, while minimizing order and putting education first. THIS would ultimately support & construct the platform where students their authentic interests & success would transform our schools and therefore our country. Politics and budgets have become our school systems' priorities.
Ms. Rhee:
I am a 78 year old man & very concerned about what is happening to our children in Public Schools toady.
I have been very interested in what is happening in Wisconsin & Ohio relative to the teachers in those states—-how they are teaching, their rediculous pensions & keeping & protecting bad teachers. Especially those “D” Minus Grades & thinking about lowering the standards to meet the students that are just too lazy to work & keep up their grades.
My dad worked hard to send 7 of his children (I am the oldest of the 7)to private schools & we all had to do our part in helping my dad in his business.
Can you tell me more about what the Unions are trying to do in Wisc. this summer with the Reform?????? Where do I get info about what the Unions are trying to do to stop what the Gov. in Wisc. has done to help save his state.
A Very Concerned Older Man.