An ambitious effort by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee to create a school for some of the city’s most troubled students fell victim to poor planning and bureaucratic infighting, an Examiner investigation found.

The Transition Academy at Shadd Elementary School was touted as a centerpiece in Rhee’s efforts to redeem years of failures in dealing with traumatized or mentally ill students. It was to serve 175 teens and young adults who had been diagnosed as “emotionally disturbed.”