Chancellor Klein: D.C. still wants aggressive school reform

What’s Chancellor Joel Klein’s message about Michelle Rhee’s resignation? He told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell yesterday that even though D.C. residents voted out their mayor and their schools superintendent resigned, the city still wants “committed, aggressive reform.”

“I think the message is the following, and I think the D.C. community is sending that message to Mayor [Vincent] Gray, which is: We want to continue on this path,” he said.

“We may want some changes in this or that, and I think the best thing he can do is establish himself as a political independent — someone who’s willing not to listen to all the moneyed interests, but actually listen to the people, and ultimately the kids in D.C. — is to go forward with a really strong committed aggressive reform. That’s what the city needs, everybody knows it.”

The chancellor also praised D.C.’s interim superintendent, Kaya Henderson, and called on her to continue Rhee’s policies of closing poor-performing schools and firing incompetent teachers.