Troy Anthony LaRaviere was, until this week, the principal of Chicago Magazine's #1 neighborhood school, Blaine Elementary School. LaRaviere became the principal of Blaine back in 2010, saying he would bring the 6th ranked school to the top of the list and he would use empirical evidence to support the school practices he and his fellow educators applied to their student body.
About two years into his tenure, after dealing quietly with the mountains of bullshit that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) get from up high, he began speaking out about his misgivings with what he felt was mismanagement.
When Emanuel announced sweeping budget cuts to education a couple of years ago, Troy LaRaviere publicly criticized Emanuel and others. This led to LaRaviere being chastised publicly, and the beginnings of a campaign to oust LaRaviere began, you know, corporate gangster-style.
Troy LaRaviere has been battling, on principle, to stay principal the past couple of months, but the announcement of his school's success—in a publication that Emanuel and others laud—LaRaviere was given the opportunity to resign on his terms and
in an open letter addressed to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. It's one of the best pieces of writing on public education and the fundamental problems with education "reformers" in both the Republican and more importantly the Democratic Party. On his school's accomplishments LaRaviere writes:
Comment: That Rahm Emanuel is still in politics at all is a wonder - given his incredibly destructive track record: