State superintendent praised on agency’s reform

D.C. Council members praised D.C. State Superintendent Deborah Gist on Tuesday for the multimillion-dollar transition her office is undertaking to oversee the city’s education reform, an encounter that contrasted sharply with the panel’s tense hearing last week involving Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

The state agency’s transition, on track to cost about $9 million, began on Oct. 1 and included the transfer of employees from D.C. Public Schools and other agencies into the state office, along with responsibilities previously handled by those offices.