(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Regardless of whether Mayor-elect Vince Gray is planning on appointing interim D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson to the position on a permanent basis today or not — and the latest indication is that he won’t be, despite his admiration of her skills — Henderson is definitely having a busy couple of days, perhaps providing a preview of what her management of the District’s schools might entail.

The Post’s Bill Turque was on fire yesterday, reporting out two stories about Henderson dealing with both troubled Dunbar High School and the potential closure of two elementary schools. On Wednesday, Turque reports, Henderson cut Friends of Bedford, the private, New York-based operator of Dunbar High. Former chancellor Michelle Rhee had appointed Friends of Bedford to run the school in 2007, but a rash of recent issues — including an alleged sexual assault on school property — and Henderson’s visits to the school led the interim Chancellor to make the move. Friends of Bedford also operates Ward 4’s Coolidge High School, though that contract expires in the spring. In an interesting move, Henderson also appointed former Dunbar principal Stephen Jackson to come back to helm the school’s new leadership team.

Could the departure from private sector management at one of the District’s most prominent high schools signal a departure from DCPS’ tendency under Rhee to treat the city’s schools like learning factories? Turque certainly plants that seed:

Henderson’s action underscores the extreme difficulty of high school turnarounds – especially involving operators who try to transplant their success into new soil in a different city. Rhee selected Friends of Bedford on the basis of its success at Bedford Academy, a highly regarded Brooklyn public school with an unstinting emphasis on college preparation. Anacostia Senior High School, which was placed under the control of Friendship Public Charter Schools by Rhee at the same time she hired Bedford, has also had leadership changes and discipline issues.

Of course, the second story, which outlines Henderson’s proposal to close two elementary schools — River Terrace Elementary in Ward 7 and Shaed Education Campus in Ward 5 — feels like its ripped right out of the Fenty-Rhee playbook. Both schools are under-enrolled and, if shuttered, would move students to nearby schools next fall.