Washington Post: Will Gray retreat on school reform? Here are 5 tests

By Richard Whitmire
Arlington

On Oct. 24, soon-to-be-departed D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Mayor Adrian Fenty wrote a farewell in The Post’s Outlook section: “We’ve done our best. Now it’s up to you.” Wisely, and appropriately, they kept their message at 30,000 feet. The big picture.

Allow me to address worried parents at ground level. How will you know if likely future mayor Vincent Gray succumbs to virulent anti-Rhee sentiment among some of his supporters and shifts her radical school reform agenda into neutral, to the kind of feel-good reforms seen in many urban districts. That is, just enough tinkering to trigger positive headlines but not enough to upset anyone — or really help students improve.

As Rhee indelicately put it just days after the primary, that would be “devastating” for D.C. students.

When it comes to education, Gray’s heart appears to be in the right place. He seems sincere when vowing to continue education reform. Certainly, his approval of Kaya Henderson as interim chancellor — Rhee’s close friend and deputy chancellor — is a positive sign. But let’s be real. The pressure to ease off Rhee’s reforms will be intense.

In Washington, much of the recent bump in enrollment comes from middle-class families, black and white, enrolling their sons and daughters in pre-K programs. I’ve interviewed some of those families. Rhee gave them confidence, while Gray worries them. If they sense that Gray will scale back the D.C. reforms, they will want to look for charter schools, private schools or a new home in the suburbs.

Here are five indicators that might help parents searching for clues about the future of the city’s schools. If any of the following pop up in the news, it’s time to worry:

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