Ever since Michelle Rhee left the District’s public school system, there’s been plenty of speculation as to where she would end up. (There were also countless job offers — she only recently agreed to serve on incoming Florida Governor Rick Scott’s transition team, though she won’t be moving to the Sunshine State or taking any pay.) But today that speculation ends in a very flashy way: Rhee is launching Students First, a non-profit organization that seeks “to ensure great teachers, access to great schools, and effective use of public dollars. “Together, we’ll demand that legislators, courts, district administrators, and school boards create and enforce policies that put students first,” reads Students First’s promotional material.
Of course, Rhee wasn’t about to let her Superman status go unused, so her new career is coinciding with another appearance on Oprah and the cover of this week’s issue of Newsweek. (No broom, though.) We’re betting that the Washington Teachers’ Union will be getting a lot of calls today from fellow unions across the country in search of tips on how to deal with the attention and pressure Rhee might bring to bear on them.
Martin Austermuhle