School of Thought: 12 Education Activists for 2012

Kaya Henderson: The Superintendent

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Michelle Rhee shook things up before she got booted out of Washington. Henderson, Rhee’s deputy, was appointed schools chancellor by the next mayor and has kept the reform agenda moving forward — albeit with less bombast. She’s lower key than Rhee, but anyone who doesn’t think Henderson is as committed to reform as her old boss has never met her. 2012 finds Henderson overseeing an avant-garde teacher evaluation system, dealing with a cheating scandal, facing intense competition from public charter schools and serving a mayor distracted by a host of political problems of his own. How much she achieves matters not only because of Rhee’s high profile in the education world but because Washington is Congress’ backyard, and what happens with the city’s schools shapes perceptions and ideas about national education policy.

Next: John Hunter: The Inspiration