{"id":185247,"date":"2011-08-24T20:33:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-25T01:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2011\/08\/24\/michelle-rhee-gets-called-out-by-ny-times\/"},"modified":"2011-08-24T20:33:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-25T01:33:00","slug":"michelle-rhee-gets-called-out-by-ny-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2011\/08\/24\/michelle-rhee-gets-called-out-by-ny-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Rhee Gets Called Out By NY Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems that the Gray Lady has noticed Michelle Rhee is frantically avoiding any discussion of the cheating that occurred under her watch as Chancellor for the DC Schools<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Eager for Spotlight, but Not if It Is on a Testing Scandal<\/b><\/span>
By MICHAEL WINERIP<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Why won\u2019t Michelle Rhee talk to USA Today?<\/p>\n

Ms. Rhee, the chancellor of the Washington public schools from 2007 to 2010, is the national symbol of the data-driven, take-no-prisoners education reform movement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to find a media outlet, big or small, that she hasn\u2019t talked to. She\u2019s been interviewed by Katie Couric, Tom Brokaw and Oprah Winfrey. She\u2019s been featured on a Time magazine cover holding a broom (to sweep away bad teachers). She was one of the stars of the documentary \u201cWaiting for Superman.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, as director of an advocacy group she founded, StudentsFirst, she crisscrosses the country pushing her education politics: she\u2019s for vouchers and charter schools, against tenure, for teachers, but against their unions.<\/p>\n

Always, she preens for the cameras. Early in her chancellorship, she was trailed for a story by the education correspondent of \u201cPBS NewsHour,\u201d John Merrow.<\/p>\n

At one point, Ms. Rhee asked if his crew wanted to watch her fire a principal. \u201cWe were totally stunned,\u201d Mr. Merrow said.<\/p>\n

She let them set up the camera behind the principal and videotape the entire firing. \u201cThe principal seemed dazed,\u201d said Mr. Merrow. \u201cI\u2019ve been reporting 35 years and never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet, as voracious as she is for the media spotlight, Ms. Rhee will not talk to USA Today.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So the press is beginning to notice that the publicity hound is avoiding them.<\/p>\n

Perhaps they should look more closely at her stories, because even a cursory examination of her record reveals that she consciously juiced those numbers through her official actions<\/a>:<\/p>\n

This conclusion is premature. A review of the record shows that Michelle Rhee\u2019s test score \u201clegacy\u201d is an open question.<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

There are three main points to consider:<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n