[Note: I have written a related post about the Rhee’s transition team here .]
The Washington, DC Examiner published the salaries for Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s top staff.
Ximena Hartsock, Transition Assistant: $115,000
Billy Kearney, Transition Assistant: $120,000
Anthony de Guzman, Transition Assistant: $125,000
John Davis, Transition Assistant: $125,000
Richard Nyankori, Special Assistant to the Chancellor: $140,000
Jenny Abramson, Transition Team Leader: $140,000
Jesus Aguirre, Transition Assistant: $150,000
Kaya Henderson, Deputy Chancellor: $200,000
Lisa Ruda, Chief of Staff: $200,000
A DC Observer 
Other people have been added to her team, Cheryl Kiebiel(Edbuild), Deonne Medley(interned with Rhee’s at Baltimore school). Please dig a little deeper; Rhee is hiring her friends and associates at a high rate of pay!
Poor DC children!
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Vicky–Thanks for your comment.
Sorrowfully, my only source is the newspaper, and the Post does not seem to be covering all of Ms Rhee’s hires. Ms. Rhee’s administration seems like it will be one to watch. Please feel free contribute more information.
I agree with you 100%, Vicky, the DCPS pay scale for the top staff is very high without significant results for DC schoolchildren being produced first.
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Rhee has also hired Michelle Jacobs the teacher who spoke on her behalf as the city council confirmation hearing.
What makes Rhee think that Baltimore City teachers are able to improve DCPS when they couldn’t do it in B-more?
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Out of curiosity, if you know, what will Ms. Jacobs be doing in DCPS?
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Can’t speak for all of Chancellor Rhee’s transition team, but actually, Dr. Ximena Hartsock is a wonderful administrator, very hard working, accessible, and an overall good person. She’s the type who would give all the teachers her cell phone number in case we needed to reach her. She really cared, and you could feel it. She was frequently one of the last to leave the school building, and she is very passionate about education and the children. I know she will do very well. Whatever she gets paid, it doesn’t matter as she gives more than that. She was only one year in our school, but she helped our teachers and students achieve much. Programs she instituted are still being continued. All the best and more power to her!
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Thanks for your comment, DCPS Teacher.
I am glad that a principal was selected to be on the transition team.
It would be a benefit to the DCPS organization for the transition team develop issues that can be put into action by those doing the day-to-day work in DCPS classrooms.
I also read in the Post that Dr. Hartsock was well-regarded in her school.
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The qualified ones will be great for any system. I don’t understand the inexperienced unqualified personnel. Unfortunately, no one has job descriptions for any of the transition team members. This team says that they put out fires…what the ? She (Jacobs) seems to be working with professional development as is Deonne Medley and Cheryl Kielbiel.
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Dr. Hartock will probably spend most of the extra money she is making in others. She is a wonderful person who always gives to others. I met her 5 years ago when I had a child at Bancroft and she worked for a program at the school. She helped many people, including me. She is humble and a true, genuine good person. I am glad she is helping the new administration.
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I agree with the concern of Vicky Pittman that only qualified people should be part of this team though.
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According to the Washington Post, Rhee with Fenty’s blessing with be downsizing Central Adm. I am wondering if she is going to start with her own people (lol)!
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I read the article also. There are some good thoughtful comments in the Post comment section by oknow101 (a former DCPS employee).
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All this money floating around and no contract for the teachers has been put in place! They have no raise, no negotiations have started…poor DC teachers and poor DC children!! All those Office-based people are making 6 figure salaries… the highest paid teacher, one that has been teaching for over 21 years makes no where near that salary!! How crazy is that??? What a shame!
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I am surprised…I thought negotiations would have started by now.
It will be interesting to see Rhee’s approach to contract negotiation. It seems that she has established some dislike to certain contract language in her former job with The New Teacher Project.
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Are you aware that Rhee’s new agenda is to evaluate teachers based on a three minute observation? She is sending all instructional superintendents and their assistants to train principals to do the same thing. This causes terror in some of the schools and definitely distracts teachers from being able to focus on the children.
Can anyone find an educator who will support being evaluated based on a three minute observation that does not even include a discussion with them?
What is that all about? How shallow can the DCPS education get?
If this is a new era for evaluating teachers, why won’t we evaluate our students just the same? With this type of educational philosophy it is no wonder that all good teaching crop works in neighboring counties.
I wouldn’t mind these individual’s salaries if any of them were actually doing something meaningful to help principals manage schools better. The sad reality is that some of these individuals are not just unhelpful, they actually put additional barriers that prevent principals from being successful leaders.
Rhee solution is to fire principals, rather than establish for each of her so called transition assistants a job description, a scope of responsibilities, and accountability measures. How much do you want to bet that she has not gotten around for doing any of that while in the same time firing principals and teachers without cause.
Why do the DC tax payers stand for this?
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