An Evening with DC Public Schools Chancellors Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee

On March 6th, the Columbia and Cornell DC alumni clubs hosted an evening with New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Columbia '67 and his DC counterpart, Michelle Rhee, Cornell '92. They talked with moderator David Johns, education policy advisor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, about the two most closely watched public school overhauls in the country.

The New York school system (1,500 schools, 1.1 million students, 136,000 employees, $22 billion annual budget) is significantly larger than the District’s (120 schools, 45,000 students, 3,500 teachers, $800 million budget). Klein recommended Rhee—who formerly consulted with him through her teacher headhunting non-profit—to Mayor Fenty for the Chancellor position in 2007 and they have stayed in close touch.

The Chancellors made it clear they are on the same page when it comes to the fundamentals of school transformation. They are both working to revamp bureaucratic cultures historically focused on the needs of adults rather than children. They want high-achieving schools, whether they are charter or traditional public. Both are in search of concessions from powerful unions that would allow them to leverage more control over hiring teachers and retaining the best of them. “I’d rather have a great teacher in a school system for two years than a mediocre teacher for 20 years,” said Rhee.

Both cities have made the significant change of mayoral control of schools. Klein has run the New York system for seven years and cited a steady growth in high school graduation rates and statewide standardized tests. He said he came primarily to call for broader support of Rhee, indicating that on a scale of one to ten, “I give Michelle a 10.”