Controversial Leader Tries to Reform D.C. Schools

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2008— -- The Obamas' difficult decision about where to send their young daughters to school once they move to the White House shined a light on the debate over public versus private schools, and the poor performance of Washington, D.C.'s public schools.

After weeks of speculation about where 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha Obama would go to school, on Friday the choice was announced. The girls will attend Sidwell Friends, the same private school that Chelsea Clinton attended. They will be schoolmates of Vice President-elect Joe Biden's grandchildren.

The decision not to send the two girls to Washington's public schools, which have been ranked among the country's worst for decades, was no surprise, but it drew attention to the efforts of a new schools chancellor in the nation's capital.

Her name is Michelle Rhee, and in her first year on the job, she has set some high expectations and employed dramatic tactics to meet them.

"Our long-term goal is to make D.C. public schools the highest-performing urban school district in the country and to close the achievement gap that exists between wealthy white students and poor minority students in the city," Rhee says.

Last spring, Rhee closed more than two dozen schools and fired hundreds of principals and teachers, mostly for not having the proper accreditation. But those were just the first steps in her larger goal to push out underqualified or uncommitted educators and keep and reward the good ones, she says.

It's those tough tactics and bold plans to fix the city's schools that won her a national introduction from a high-profile advocate -- President-elect Barack Obama. Obama spoke often about education reform on the campaign trail and in the third presidential debate, he gave Rhee a major nod of approval.

"The D.C. school system is in terrible shape, and it has been for a very long time," Obama said. "And we've got a wonderful new superintendent there who is working very hard."

Rhee has won a lot of praise in some education circles. Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy in Washington, said: "She's shown courage; maybe it's because she's relatively young."