Michelle Rhee

In the ever-evolving landscape of education in America, Michelle Rhee has been working tirelessly for the past two decades to give children the skills and knowledge they will need to compete in a changing world. From adding instructional time after school and visiting students' homes as a third grade teacher in Baltimore, to hosting hundreds of community meetings and creating a Youth Cabinet to bring students' voices into reforming the DC Public Schools, Rhee has always been guided by one core principle: put students first.

Seeing bureaucratic barriers as a key problem in improving the school system, in 2013, Rhee put her thoughts and solutions to paper and wrote her first book, "Radical: Fighting To Put Students First". In the book, Rhee lays out the foundation of getting behind a movement to put children before the deteriorating status quo. Encapsulating her well-documented experiences and enlightened knowledge, Radical serves as, “a call-to-arms guide to not only improve our schools, but also build a brighter future for America’s children.”

Rhee first came onto the public stage on June 12, 2007, when Mayor Adrian Fenty appointed her to lead the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), a school district serving more than 47,000 students in 123 schools. Under Rhee’s leadership, the worst performing school district in the country became the only major city system to see double-digit growth in both their state reading and state math scores in seventh, eighth and tenth grades over three years. The graduation rate rose, and after previous steep declines, enrollment rose for the first time in forty years.

Each chapter of Rhee's story has convinced her: students of every background and ZIP code can achieve at high levels, and for our schools to become what children deserve, every educator is called to believe this. Even in the toughest of circumstances, all teachers are called to turn the incredible potential that fills their classrooms daily, into the achievements worthy of our children and country.

Rhee has a bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University and a master's in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.