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I was intrigued by two stories in the December 13 issue of Newsweek on the subject of public school reform in the United States: the cover story, an essay authored by Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools whose picture and quote “I’m not done fighting” graced the cover (as a former English Language Arts teacher, I would have hoped for a more elegant word choice, but then I suppose space was an issue); and a second story, buried in the middle of the magazine entitled “Give Peace a Chance”, featuring a full page photograph of the president of the Hillsborough County, FL teacher’s union and chronicling the successful school improvement efforts in that school district, the result of collaboration among all the professionals in the system, including the teachers’ union. As a career educator, I think the more provocative magazine cover would have featured photographs of both women juxtaposed with the question: What will it REALLY take to improve all our schools??

In her essay, Michelle Rhee states, “...there is no big organized interest group that defends and promotes the interests of children”. In one sense, her statement is accurate; there’s no ONE big organized group promoting the interests of children. Just in the Learning First Alliance (LFA), there are 16 organized groups working together to promote the interests of children and the professionals who devote a career to educating those children in public schools across the country…..urban, suburban, rural…each with unique community based dynamics. The education leaders represented in LFA are very aware that the quality of the public education experienced by children across the nation isn’t uniform and that some public schools need attention for reform and improvement. However, what we also know is that the Hillsborough County, Florida, approach to school reform is the only one that can be sustained and result in real improvement for the children we serve.

When Michelle Rhee states that, “The truth is, the state of American education is pitiful, and it’s getting worse.” she makes the cover of Newsweek; however, her rhetoric and appeal to raise funds for her new public policy advocacy organization, does nothing to acknowledge what professional educators have done successfully to date in support of our children’s education or how to empower successful collaborative strategies to effect real reform where it’s most needed.