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A CALL TO ACTION AT NAIS:
MICHELLE RHEE URGES INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS TO ENTER INTO PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS LIKE HORIZONS

In an electrifying presentation to some 3,000 teachers and administrators at the NAIS Annual Conference in February, Michelle Rhee singled out the Horizons at Maret School program for its successful academic intervention on behalf of public school students. The high-profile Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public school system, known for her hard-nosed determination to reform public education, was asked about the role independent schools might play in the crusade. Without missing a beat, Rhee pointed to the Maret School program, noting that the particular kind of academic and enrichment program that Horizons had created there was the answer. Rhee encouraged independent schools nationwide to become partners with their public school neighbors and make a contribution to improved education for all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Said Time magazine of Rhee’s sweeping approach to reform, “…if she succeeds, (she) could do something no one has done before: she could prove that low-income urban kids can catch up with kids in the suburbs. The radicalism of this idea cannot be overstated.”