Michelle Rhee heads to Sunshine State to aid Scott

Former DC schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has joined the education transition team of Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott. Rhee's three-year tenure as leader of schools in the nation's capital ended in October, after Democratic Mayor Adrian M. Fenty lost his bid for reelection. Fenty named her to the post in 2007 after he took control of the city schools.

Rhee, who was a recent guest on satirist Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, became a polarizing figure in the District and in much of the education world, revered by some as an aggressive reformer and reviled by others as insensitive to teacher and community concerns. She closed many schools and fired or laid off hundreds of teachers. She also presided over rising test scores and reached an accord with the teachers union that launched a new performance pay system and reduced seniority rights.

The statement from Scott's office described Rhee as a nationally "recognized education reformer" who will "help him find innovative ways to create a new education system for a new economy." Read more of this article in The Washington Post online.