Michelle Rhee and StudentsFirst are holding a series of Teacher Town Hall events in various cities this fall. Teachers in particular are encouraged to attend, and the goal is to have an honest and open conversation about how to improve public education.

The third event was held last week in Philadelphia. George Parker, former president of the Washington Teachers Union, and Steve Perry, founder of Capital Prep Magnet School, joined Rhee on stage at the town hall.

In an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer before the event, Rhee wrote about Philadelphia’s current funding crisis:

In a crisis, we ought to recognize opportunity. I see a clear opportunity in Philadelphia to use this moment to implement education reforms that will increase transparency in school funding, ensure that available dollars are going toward the programs that have the most impact on student learning, and protect effective teachers and keep them in the classroom. That’s the approach being championed by Mayor Nutter and Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., and it’s the right one.

Michelle Rhee was profiled in the Winter 2010 issue of Education Next.

Rhee spoke with Ed Next’s Mike Petrilli earlier this year about her book Radical for the Education Next Book Club podcast.

—Education Next