MISS RHEE YET? BUMPER STICKER

Michelle A. Rhee is the former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools system of Washington, D.C. When she began work in 2007, despite having the third highest spending per student in the US, only 8% of DC's eighth graders were at grade level in mathematics. In 2010, Rhee and the unions agreed on a new contract that offered 20% pay raises and bonuses of $20,000 to $30,000 for "strong student achievement," in exchange for weakened teachers' seniority protections and the end of teacher tenure for one year. Under this new agreement, Rhee fired 241 teachers, the vast majority of whom received poor evaluations, and put 737 additional school employees on notice. Following the defeat of incumbent mayor Adrian Fenty in the 2010 Democratic primary election, Rhee called the election results "devastating for the schoolchildren of Washington, D.C."