New Secretary of Education — What will be the effects locally?
Eaton Editorials from Jennifer Malone December 16th, 2008Arne Duncan Confirmed as Education Secretary
New Secretary of Education to Focus on Innovation and Accountability
The name “Arne Duncan” is apparently derived from the words “innovation” and “accountability,” or at least that’s the impression U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan gave to Senators and onlookers at his January 13 confirmation hearing.
Duncan was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as the nation’s new Secretary of Education on January 20 – the same day Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America.
Duncan is no ordinary candidate for Secretary of Education. Not only is he the first former Australian pro-basketball player to ever be nominated for this position, but he also grew up helping his mother tutor children at the Sue Duncan’s Children’s Center in the rough inner city of Chicago, IL.
According to Duncan, several of those who participated in the Center went on to accomplish great things—including success in Hollywood and in the medical field. Those experiences showed him that with effort and determination, education has the power to transform students’ lives, even in the face of very challenging life circumstances.
Following President Barack Obama’s nomination of Duncan for Secretary of Education in December, NASSP Executive Director Gerald N. Tirozzi said the following: “We at NASSP are extremely pleased with the nomination of Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education. As the head of Chicago Public Schools, he has demonstrated a commitment to improving the education of all students and a willingness to bring educators of all stripes together in the pursuit of meaningful school reform. We are also pleased that he has called for additional flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act and a significant increase in federal education funding.”
Throughout his testimony, Duncan made two things clear: the U.S. high school graduation rate is unacceptably low (it currently stands at about 70%) and improvements in student achievement can be obtained through innovation and accountability.
Reforming schools and increasing high school graduation rates is not easy business, and much of the work that needs to be done should occur at the middle level. “America once led the world in high school graduation, and now we’re falling behind other industrialized nations,” Duncan said. “We can’t continue down this path. We must identify students at risk of failure by the middle school years if not earlier—and target interventions to them,” he continued.
Central to school improvement efforts are quality principals and teachers. During the hearing, Duncan said that “school leadership matters,” and that he sees principals as chief executive officers. Duncan explained that any good school in Chicago has a great principal, and if a school does not have a good leadership succession plan in place, the schools’ successes will soon fall apart. Duncan also stated that a quality principal is critical to teacher retention, which he noted will be increasingly important as the generation of Baby Boomer teachers continues to retire.
During his tenure as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Duncan emphasized the importance of school leadership, and since 1998, three programs have been implemented in the city to develop a new cadre of principals and assistant principals. Together, these programs are helping to ensure that all schools are led by an effective instructional leader.
Holding schools accountable for results has also figured prominently in Duncan’s efforts to reform education, and at times this has meant closing down continuously low-performing schools and reopening them with new leadership and other school staff. However, staff turnover in the name of school turnaround is a strategy that NASSP believes should be avoided whenever possible.
Recognizing that literacy and numeracy are the building blocks for student success, Duncan has also demonstrated a strong commitment to improving these skills for students in all grades. As superintendent, he oversaw the initiation of a new evidence-based program incorporating literacy coaches, in which every student in every grade spends two hours each day on improving their literacy skills. Similar programs were also created for math and science.
Although at times controversial, Duncan’s efforts to improve education have borne success, and as a result, nearly two-thirds of eighth graders in Chicago are meeting or exceeding state standards (up from 40% in 2001). At the same time, greater numbers of high school students are taking college-level courses and gaining college credit.
NASSP commends President Obama on his selection of Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education, and we look forward to working with Duncan in the on-going pursuit of increased student learning.
The name “Arne Duncan” is apparently derived from the words “innovation” and “accountability,” or at least that’s the impression U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan gave to Senators and onlookers at his January 13 confirmation hearing.
Duncan was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as the nation’s new Secretary of Education on January 20 – the same day Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America.
Duncan is no ordinary candidate for Secretary of Education. Not only is he the first former Australian pro-basketball player to ever be nominated for this position, but he also grew up helping his mother tutor children at the Sue Duncan’s Children’s Center in the rough inner city of Chicago, IL.
According to Duncan, several of those who participated in the Center went on to accomplish great things—including success in Hollywood and in the medical field. Those experiences showed him that with effort and determination, education has the power to transform students’ lives, even in the face of very challenging life circumstances.
Following President Barack Obama’s nomination of Duncan for Secretary of Education in December, NASSP Executive Director Gerald N. Tirozzi said the following: “We at NASSP are extremely pleased with the nomination of Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education. As the head of Chicago Public Schools, he has demonstrated a commitment to improving the education of all students and a willingness to bring educators of all stripes together in the pursuit of meaningful school reform. We are also pleased that he has called for additional flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act and a significant increase in federal education funding.”
Throughout his testimony, Duncan made two things clear: the U.S. high school graduation rate is unacceptably low (it currently stands at about 70%) and improvements in student achievement can be obtained through innovation and accountability.
Reforming schools and increasing high school graduation rates is not easy business, and much of the work that needs to be done should occur at the middle level. “America once led the world in high school graduation, and now we’re falling behind other industrialized nations,” Duncan said. “We can’t continue down this path. We must identify students at risk of failure by the middle school years if not earlier—and target interventions to them,” he continued.
Central to school improvement efforts are quality principals and teachers. During the hearing, Duncan said that “school leadership matters,” and that he sees principals as chief executive officers. Duncan explained that any good school in Chicago has a great principal, and if a school does not have a good leadership succession plan in place, the schools’ successes will soon fall apart. Duncan also stated that a quality principal is critical to teacher retention, which he noted will be increasingly important as the generation of Baby Boomer teachers continues to retire.
During his tenure as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Duncan emphasized the importance of school leadership, and since 1998, three programs have been implemented in the city to develop a new cadre of principals and assistant principals. Together, these programs are helping to ensure that all schools are led by an effective instructional leader.
Holding schools accountable for results has also figured prominently in Duncan’s efforts to reform education, and at times this has meant closing down continuously low-performing schools and reopening them with new leadership and other school staff. However, staff turnover in the name of school turnaround is a strategy that NASSP believes should be avoided whenever possible.
Recognizing that literacy and numeracy are the building blocks for student success, Duncan has also demonstrated a strong commitment to improving these skills for students in all grades. As superintendent, he oversaw the initiation of a new evidence-based program incorporating literacy coaches, in which every student in every grade spends two hours each day on improving their literacy skills. Similar programs were also created for math and science.
Although at times controversial, Duncan’s efforts to improve education have borne success, and as a result, nearly two-thirds of eighth graders in Chicago are meeting or exceeding state standards (up from 40% in 2001). At the same time, greater numbers of high school students are taking college-level courses and gaining college credit.
NASSP commends President Obama on his selection of Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education, and we look forward to working with Duncan in the on-going pursuit of increased student learning.
