Ball State alum Rebecca Fleischer loved her teachers while she was growing up and wanted to follow in their footsteps. But she found her calling as an influence of the educational system at the highest levels.
A 1998 graduate with a degree in secondary education, Fleischer had little interest in politics while she was growing up. But her journey has taken her from the state capital through the White House, where she met her husband, presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer, and onto the Department of Education where she's involved in promoting the No Child Left Behind Act. She has a view of Capitol Hill from her workplace, but eventually she hopes to give it up for a view of a chalkboard.
"Some of my best teachers were people who had careers outside of teaching before they went into the classroom, bringing real world experience with them," she said in a telephone interview from her office in Washington D.C. "I think this is the right move for me. I should do some real things before I go teach."
Hoosier upbringing
Fleischer (whose maiden name is Davis), 26, spent most of her childhood on Indianapolis' East Side. As a little girl she attended Little Flower Elementary School and later graduated from Scecina Memorial High School. Because of her experiences with small private schools she had initially thought about attending Hanover College but thought Ball State might offer a more diverse experience.
"I thought I could have more opportunities at a bigger school," she said. "Not so much academically, because I knew I wanted to be an education major, but there were more opportunities socially with the things you experience at larger, public schools. "
She became involved in politics during her freshman year when she interned for Indiana's then Secretary of State Sue Anne Gilroy.
"I had never done anything in government before, but my father knew her (Gilroy) and really liked her," Fleischer said. "I interned for her that summer and absolutely loved it. I was completely fascinated with public service. I loved interacting with the people that came in and helping them through the bureaucratic problems."
Gilroy also enjoyed having her on staff. Fleischer helped streamline the computer filing process.
"I ask everyone at the end of their internships to give their suggestions on how we can serve people better," Gilroy said in a telephone interview. "Rebecca wrote a two-page paper. We ended up implementing every one of her suggestions."
Passion for school choice
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After graduation Fleischer worked for the Greater Education Opportunities Foundation, an Indianapolis-based school-choice advocacy group. The issue of school choice, which is a major component of the No Child Left Behind legislation, is one close to her heart.
"The biggest problem with the education system is that it doesn't educate all children equally and that gets down to access," she said. "Some schools are just better than other schools and that's the reality. It's not fair. And the way I see it can be fixed is by giving parents choices of schools that are better."
According to the Department of Education's Web site, the NCLB's primary objectives include stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, an emphasis on scientific teaching methods, as well school choice. The legislation, which passed a little over a year ago, has sparked controversy over its implementation, but many have dubbed it the most sweeping education reform in almost 40 years.
It was a key issue during George W. Bush's 2000 campaign, which endeared Fleischer to the president. Shortly after he was elected she found out about an opening in the White House's Office of Management and Budget and took the opportunity to make her entrance into Washington's political landscape.
Public Servant
At the OMB, which is located in the Old Executive Office Building across from the West Wing, Fleischer helped coordinate the production of the federal budget, shuttling documents among the president's senior staff. The job could become especially hectic in the weeks before the annual budget was released in February. "The budget is actually several volumes. It's huge and weighs 20 pounds," she said. "It has a statutory deadline. I was the last step, and so things fell on my dime. If something went wrong the budget might not get done. I was so relieved when it was done. All I could do was pray and hope that nobody found any mistakes. If they found mistakes they didn't tell me, and they weren't big enough to make headlines. That is what makes me happy."
Fleischer worked at the OMB for almost two years before arriving at the Department of Education in January. As outreach and planning director for the department's Office of Innovation and Improvement, she's responsible for getting the word out about the NCLB's programs. She's focused a good deal of attention on school choice and charter schools in particular, another issue that has stirred controversy. In 2001, in protest of Ball State's sponsorship of charter schools, Fort Wayne Community Schools announced it would accept BSU student teachers only under the supervision of IPFW faculty. Some fear the institutions, which are funded by the state, siphon money away from public schools.
"A lot of people will say that you have to send your kids to this public school, this is the curriculum we're going to use," she said. "Here are the procedures we're going to follow. And you either have to buy into the school system and if you don't have the money to do something about it, you're stuck. And that bothers me. I think that parents have rights and in a free market society they should have the right to chose what's best for their children."
Marriage and a yearn to teach
Fleischer returned home on November 9, to marry Ari. A familiar presence on the news networks, the bespectacled 42-year-old press secretary serves as the voice for the administration fielding questions during White House press conferences. The two met outside the White House while she was leaving one night with a group of co-workers, one of whom was friends with Ari. The couple have kept quiet about their relationship and Rebecca said little, other than that they talk little about work.
"I think its just because we're so busy, we just want to leave it behind," she said. "I don't know if we give each other advice (about their respective jobs), but we listen to each other and help each other grow as individuals."
Like her husband, she hopes one day to discuss economics, government and politics for a living, but with students rather than the media.
"There are some days when I really yearn to be a teacher, and I guess that's my only regret that I can't do that right now," she said. "My student teaching experience at Yorktown High School was so rewarding that I can't wait to do that again. Government, U.S. History and Geography."
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