D.C. Schools Chief Faces Ire on Closings

Michelle A. Rhee, left, the chancellor of the District of Columbia’s public schools, talks to angry parents last week after a meeting to gather community reaction to a plan for closing some schools. Ms. Rhee is facing opposition to parts of her agenda for the district.

—Stephanie Kuykendal for Education Week

By Lesli A. Maxwell

Washington

In a packed auditorium in northeast Washington this week, Michelle A. Rhee, the chancellor of the District of Columbia schools, faced one of her toughest audiences yet in the six months since Mayor Adrian M. Fenty tapped her to fix the broken school system he now controls.

More than 250 angry parents— who had found out just days before that their children’s schools could be shuttered next fall—drowned out the efforts of a Rhee aide to use a PowerPoint presentation to explain why the chancellor and Mr. Fenty say they must close or consolidate two dozen schools across the 50,000-student system. With seven campuses in their part of the city, Ward 5, slated for closure, they didn’t want to hear analyses of underutilized square footage or declining enrollment.

They wanted answers...