The Wall Street Journal–the voice of free market globalism–loves privatization of America’s public schools, loves high-stakes testing, and loves evaluating teachers by test scores. Conversely, it despises public schools and unionized teachers. This newspaper, one of the jewels of mogul Rupert Murdoch’s Empire, is consistently on the far right, hawkish and pro-corporatist. They dismiss the views of parents, as if they don’t matter. As you will see, they love centralized control by the federal government so long as it is pushing their radical rightwing goals.
Read what the WSJ said about federal education policy today.
“The Lost Education Opportunity”
“President Obama made a fine choice on Friday in John King, a charter
school advocate, to be his next Secretary of Education. Then again
Arne Duncan, who is returning to Chicago at the end of the year after
seven years as Secretary, also arrived with much promise only to run
afoul of the antireform inertia in the Democratic Party.
“Mr. King has been a senior adviser to Mr. Duncan since last year and
before that was state education commissioner in New York, where he
pushed for higher standards. This made him unpopular with unions,
which these days ought to be a requirement for any education
leadership position. Mr. King helped found one of Massachusetts’s top
charters, Roxbury Prep, and later moved to New York to help launch the
Uncommon Schools charter-school network.
“It’s nonetheless hard to be optimistic that Mr. King can accomplish
much in the waning days of the Obama Presidency, especially after Mr.
Duncan’s experience. Mr. Duncan did well to promote charter schools
and high standards. His Race to the Top initiative used federal
dollars to catalyze reform in the states, especially by encouraging
them to hold teachers accountable for student performance.
“Yet such progress was overshadowed by his unwillingness to fully take
on the union-backed status quo. When Democrats in Congress killed a
scholarship program that gave poor kids in the nation’s capital a shot
at a decent school, Mr. Duncan remained on the sidelines. He was also
mute when the Justice Department sued Louisiana because its voucher
program helped poor minority kids by letting them attend schools that
didn’t have enough whites.
“Mr. Duncan’s worst legacy is the Administration’s assault on
for-profit higher education. He promoted the takeover of most student
loans, piling up a trillion dollars in new federal liabilities. And
his department, at White House insistence, has driven a “gainful
employment” rule that targets for-profit schools whose graduates don’t
meet the arbitrary debt-to-earnings level the Education Department
thinks they should have.
“The rule doesn’t apply to the nonprofits and community colleges that
often do even worse by employment, confirming a glaring double
standard. Some of Mr. Duncan’s admirers say he was merely going along with an agenda driven by the White House and Capitol Hill liberals,
but the result has hurt minority and lower-income adults who benefit
from the flexible schedules and job-focused skills that for-profits
can provide.
“The Obama Presidency has been disappointing on many counts, but
education is its biggest lost opportunity. The nation’s first
African-American President had unique standing and moral capital to
remake the politics of education. Mr. Obama might have united
reformers on the right and left into a movement that empowered parents
to choose the best school for their children regardless of their
location or income. It might have been a unifying issue and a great
legacy.
“But he opted for tepid, and now his main K-12 legacy will be having
presided over the unwinding of President George W. Bush’s bipartisan
No Child Left Behind reform. We were no fans of that law, but at least
it elevated higher standards and performance measurement regardless of background. Those principles are now under assault by unions on the
left and populists on the right.
“One sign of how this debate has moved backward: The nation’s two
largest teachers unions have already endorsed Hillary Clinton for
President. Mr. King looks to be a short-timer even if Democrats keep
the White House in 2016.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Arne Duncan, the brain-wreck that just kept happening, finally ran out of steam.
Not to worry, there’s plenty more steam where that came from.
This is hair raising Diane….I hope that you, personally, will write a strong rebuttal. Perhaps many of your, our well known colleagues will also sign on. If the WSJ refuses to use it, let’s take up a collection to pay for it as a full page ad.
On the topic of Arne’s promotion of the the profiting from privatization (how’s that for alliteration?), Peter Greene wrote about a recent how-to-get-rich-from-charter-schools seminar. This is on his blog CURMUDGUCATION:
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2015/10/charter-investment-seminar-with-walton.html
——————————–
(CAPITALS are mine… Jack)
PETER GREENE:
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Charter Investment Seminar with Walton, Gates and DFER
–
Well, gosh. I don’t know how I missed this one.
Last March 10, the Walton Family Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a seminar in Manhattan about how to make money in the charter school game.
The program was a who’s who of charter school profiteers.
Whitney Tilson, top dog of D[sic]FER was the keynote speaker for …
“Bonds and Blackboards: Investing in Charter Schools”
His kickoff was followed by such sexy fare as
— “State of Charter School Facilities Financing,”
— “Authorizers and Lenders: What Can We Learn From Each Other,”
and
— “Assessing a Charter School: Investor Voices.”
A panel on future trends promised to cover this info:
“Discussion about tools market participants can utilize to create a more efficient market, such as: pools, credit enhancement, more state involvement, etc. Discussion will include trends in borrower characteristics and continued disclosure needs.”
The panels included lots of folks from the financial sector, including…
— Bank of America,
— Prudential Financial,
— Wells Capital Management,
and
—the Charter School Growth Fund.
And look– here’s our old friend Rebecca Sibilia, now famous for suggesting that public school bankruptcy is a great opportunity.
———-
(For more about Rebecca Sibilia, go here:
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/09/12932/bankruptcy-huge-opportunity-privatize-schools-says-edbuild
and here:
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2015/10/what-happens-after-you-blow-it-all-up.html )
———————–
There are some folks from the ed biz itself there, like KIPP, Achievement First, and the New Orleans Parish School Board.
Oh, and the United States Department of Education sent Clifton Jones to sit on a panel (the one about future trends).
You’ll be glad to know that the agenda indicates that AT NO POINT WERE THESE FOLKS DISTRACTED BY ANYTHING ABOUT ACTUAL STUDENTS OR ACTUAL EDUCATION.
This could as easily have been a conference about investing in pork belly futures or weasel farms. When you ask me why I’m so opposed to the idea of schools as an open investment market for hedge fundies and venture capitalists, this is why– because IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, THE ACTUAL BUSINESS OF SCHOOLS IS NOT EVEN IN THE TOP FIVE CONCERNS.
This is not unique to their interest in education– when they invest in widget factories or goat farms or pharmaceutical companies, they are never interested in widgets or goats or medicine, but just the money to be made, and in this way, they have not particularly made America a better place. But when you extend this money-grubbing behavior to education, you get the erosion and destruction of a cornerstone of a democratic society.
There were, of course, no educators at this seminar. Why would there be? It had nothing to do with education. Besides, it was a Tuesday– we were all in school actually doing the work of educating students.
As you know Jack and Diane..I keep harping on reading Tilson who is very open about his goals and Wall Street free market drive to privatize public schools, and also i often write on the value of school bankruptcy to the vulture Rheeformers, particularly Eli Broad. Cannot understand why you and I and Peter Greene, our fave Curmudgucation informer, are the only writers who are leaning in on this.
People keep asking me why billionaires like Broad and Gates would even want or need more money…they say this with an all-knowing sneer, and the worst, who are filled with disdain for our position, seem to be my university colleagues, and even some friends and relatives. Amazing. They should read Sirota’s book Uprising, and Klein with Shock Doctrine and Stiglitz with On Inequality. Of course the greed mongers think we the people, are all commies.
I will continue to dare these reformers to come in and teach my classes for two weeks. I dare them.
That would violate the 8th Amendment. They couldn’t last two hours in a classroom.
TOWest, I’ve often thought 60 days would be apt–so folks would come to appreciate the teacher’s sense of pacing/responsibility to address curriculum and what it’s like to devote hours on multiple weekends to lesson planning; reading & responding to students’ compositions; setting up learning centers
LOL Arne plays obsequiously by the neoliberal playbook, but can’t win the approval of WSJ. And you know he’d love to have their approval as he now looks to cash in on his experience.
Lack of gratitude? Eating their own?
“There’s no honor among thieves.”
😎
This is expected from any media controlled by Rupert Murdock. Another oligarch struggling to carve off his share of a democracy that he hopes is on the way out.
Rupert Murdoch wrote the op ed in the NY Times some years back on how to takeover and profit from public education as the greatest new investor opportunity. I would like to see a full page rebuttal to him printed there as well as at the WSJ.
To bad that the Education Bloggers Network isn’t organized to the point where a handful of members could write a weekly Op-Ed that every member Blog would post—for instance every Sunday—so it is out there for the entire week before the next Sunday and next Op-Ed.
The handful of members who write these Op-Eds could rotate so each one only has to write an Op-Ed once every five weeks.
In addition, it would help if these Op-Eds were kept between 350 to 500 words and came with an educational graphic image and/or YouTube video to embed.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, in today’s fast-paced internet world, if we want to reach more readers outside our educational choir, we have to keep our posts shorter and include some attention grabbing educational images or videos to attract and keep readers.
I, for one, will not post a guest Op-Ed that doesn’t come with these word length limitations and without an image or video, because it’s a waste of time. There is nothing more intimating to an average reader on the internet than a really long post they have to scroll through and be willing to spend 30 minutes or more reading without any visual breaks. Media studies reveal that the average viewer will spend less than 30 seconds on a post/site.
Too often, I start to read REALLY long posts here and then stop after a few paragraphs and then scroll to the bottom to read the last paragraph. And sometimes I only read the 1st and last paragraph when I see how long that scroll bar is.
How many viewers out there have several hours a day to read everything the Education Bloggers Network churns out.
That’s why a weekly word limited Op-Ed written by one of the five members rotating every five weeks posted by every member blog of the network would probably have a bigger impact and reach a wider audience.
EL, during the years that R Murdoch owned Scott Foresman textbook publishers (circa 1990-96), I think he used a substantial amount of profits for his European cable company rather than re-invest it in book development. He sold Scott Foresman to Pearson/Addison Wesley. and Marjorie Scardino, a former US citizen, recognized/realized market opportunities for Pearson even before NCLB.
Thanks for this info Booklady…I will track her down to find out more about Murdoch and Pearson.
And agree with you Lloyd about the attention span to read long long long posts with endless links and videos…too hard to devote so much time. However, Jack, who is the prime poster of verbosity, often has vital info from which we all learn. SO>>>please Jack, give us shorter versions with only a single video…and NO MORE of the same old Monica Garcia in the house dress spouting her garbage.
Pro-corporatist or are we a corporatist-state?
Corporatist-state = fascism
Corporations partnered with Government/Government partnered with Corporations, defines Fascism.
“the antireform inertia in the Democratic Party”
What a crock. Try naming all the Democratic politicians who are “antireform.”
“Nothing in motion stays in motion. Nothing at rest stays at rest”
If nothingness has inertia
Then Democrats have lots
Like Persian rugs in Persia
And water in the pots
This is preposterous.
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/lawmakers-question-private-scoring-process-for-federal-charter-school-grant-1.629609?localLinksEnabled=false
“Mr. King helped found one of Massachusetts’s top charters, Roxbury Prep…”
Here are the suspensions rates at that “top charter”:
2003 – 42%
2004 – 56%
2005 – 70%
2006 – 61%
2007 – 62%
2008 – 57%
2009 – 47%
2010 – 53%
2011 – 41%
2012 – 56%
The state average during these years was about 5.8%.
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=04840505&orgtypecode=6&leftNavId=303&&fycode=2003&utm_content=buffer63a57&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
But isn’t that how you achieve “top charter” status?
This is the rheephorm equivalent of “punishing/abusing/humiliating your way to excellence & success.” Or more accurately: the appearance of excellence & success.
Utterly unacceptable. And a striking example of how charters are “factories of failure” that serve the interests of a few self-serving adults at the expense of many students and parents.
Thank you for the info and the link.
😎
CL, So, more students are suspended than make honor roll, I guess? With these percentages, suspension becomes a norm not a stigma.
Good local story about the Obama Administration involvement in the Youngstown take-over plan:
“Youngstown could become a “recovery district,” similar to New Orleans where public schools were almost completely replaced by charters following hurricane Katrina.
Personnel at the federal level say the state’s proposal spelled out a plan to use grant money to support charter schools in Youngstown, the only “recovery district” identified in the state takeover plan.”
“State Auditor Dave Yost told the Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he is “shocked” that Ohio won the federal award considering the amount of fraud and mismanagement his office has uncovered in charter schools.”
The USDOE won’t reveal the names of the people who review the grants for new charter schools. I don’t understand how that can be- why they’re allowed that level of secrecy in a federal grant program, where one can’t even find out their names.
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/lawmakers-question-private-scoring-process-for-federal-charter-school-grant-1.629609#.VhKcHyqRvYk.twitter
Ciara, I looked over the comments offered by each USDE reviewer of the charter school grant application from Ohio. I summarized these in an earlier post. Based on those reviews, there were very good reasons to disapprove the grant. The reviewers had a good handle on the sink holes of no accountability. Never mind. Arne just shoved the money out the door. The fraud can outlive Arne’s tenure.
Off topic but related…Obama and King…Obama and health care…Biden and charters…Hillary and Broad…does it matter any more who is seated on the throne?
As of today (google health care rules re patient records online)…health care providers who do not put every item of a patient’s records online, will be fined and made to pay huge penalties. This info came to my mailbox from the US Government this afternoon.
This edict made as the Govt. has reduced provider’s payments so drastically that most doctors will no longer take Medicare nor insurance. And fewer students are applying for medical school, just as fewer are applying to become teachers.
This is part of the whole government/Wall Street takeover of all public systems. It is no long Dem v. Rep. It is one cabal to rule everything, with all info on all citizens, all the time, turned over to this overlord government. So,if you see a therapist be careful, they are reporting now online, every word you say. Try to get a job in the future.
It sounds like paranoia but it is now Full Time Big Brother watching every move we make, from cameras on all buildings and at all traffic signals, to our docs reporting on us all, or else, coupled with an IRS that can expropriate all personal assets without a warrant.
When Georgie Bush wanted Social Security to be a Wall Street product, we fought it…and we won, for a moment in time..but here it all comes at us again…and now it is by a Dem administration.
Welcome to Obamacare.
Welcome to the Brave New World of a one party system.
“fewer students applying for medical school”
Soon, there will be a DFA, Doctors For America, with five weeks of summer training with no hands on experience before they start treating and operating on patients.
There’s already a model for this. When Mao ruled China, they called the program “the Barefoot Doctors” and anyone in China who wanted to become a doctor only had to watch films to learn how to treat and operate on patients. There were also some workshops that focused on hygiene, and then they were sent off. They didn’t even have to be literate.
Meanwhile, most real medically trained doctors in China were targeted by the Red Guard, accused of being spies and capitalists and hounded to the point where many killed themselves to escape the persecution.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Here’s a gushing review of Arne Duncan, written by someone who worked for him, promoted on a platform run by another person who worked for him, with the whole thing funded by Gates:
http://educationpost.org/arne-duncan-the-meddler/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Betcon&utm_content=TwBetconArneMv1
As you see, it’s all very data driven and objective in the ed reform movement. Just pure science. Duncan gets an A+ because the people who owe their careers in ed reform to him say so.
The guy who wrote the piece you cited is a long-term PR hack with a long-term “communications” background. He did work previously for Arne Duncan, and also for Paul Vallas. Sigh.
This dude now serves as the director of communications for Education Post, which is dedicated to “rigorous standards,” accountability, and “charter schools.”
Education Post says it will “challenge false narratives.”
More likely, it will help to create them.
It’s fun to read the former publicly-paid ed reform “movement” members in their new private sector jobs, because it’s lockstep- it’s all charters and testing all the time.
You rarely find even a mention of a public school.
That was Duncan’s Team in the USDOE- charters and testing, 24/7.
No wonder DC is so lockstep on ed reform. It is quite literally the same 150 well-connected “movement” ed reformers playing musical chairs. It’s a choir of True Believers.
The Wall Street Journal editorial writers know as much as about education – and its attendant problems and issues – as it does about economic policy.
And that ain’t much.
Privatizing education won’t “fix” anything. It merely shifts the problems into a for-profit model, and will actually create more problems.
Rupert Murdock gets a virtual dunce cap from me, and I have plenty more to hand out.
SOS> READ THIS FROM 2003: http://educationnext.org/lost-opportunity/
WSJ also had a long tome on Zuckerbergs $100 million lesson in throwing money at schools in Newark, NJ. Blames the teacher bureaucracy for no value added, then reviews the history of other efforts such as Annenberg and even the Ford Foundation, concluding these were failures based on an inability to raise test scores.
The writers say all of these gifts end up in the hands of unions, bureaucrats and politicians who cause the problems.
The last part of the polemic speaks to the general impossibility of philanthropic dollars to address education, justice, child welfare, neighborhood improvement when those issues have also resisted the efforts of Congress and presidencies for many years.
Solution?
None, just circumvent the bureaucracies and interest groups that cause the problems and operate independently. Support operations like Success Academy, and scholarships for kids to attend private schools.
Not a word about the sustained campaign to take over the curriculum in public schools, via the privately funded Common Core initiative, sustained since 1999, with funds from philanthropies and a bit of cooperation from USDE, the testing industry, and so on.
Didn’t most of the money go to consultants and friends of Cami Anderson and Chris Cerf and David Hespe who were also double dippers? Isn’t that the truth? Nah, easier to blame the teachers, right? Shame on the media. They have been bought and sold so many times, they have no souls left.
D,
Greg Taylor, the CEO of Foundation for Newark’s Future (which was administering MZ grant+matching funds), was earning $382K salary per NY Times Nov 1, 2011 article. Nice job if you can get it. More than Cami, Cerf, or Christie were paid.
Not sure what his successor, Kimberly McLain, who worked for credit Suisse, KPMG, and national TFA staff commanded.
Dear Diane. I sincerely hope you will write a strong rebuttal to the Wall Street Journal, and that they print it also that large numbers of educators will flood the White House comment telephone (202-456-1111) with calls regarding the John King replacement. It was easy to get through this morning, and a live person answered.
Can anyone provide online links where we can also comment in writing to the 1) Wall Street Journal as well as 2) the White House?
The Journal posted an editorial yesterday that justified possible war crimes by the U.S. This editorial should not come as a surprise to long time readers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/10/05/reactions-to-arne-duncans-departure-illustrate-national-divide-over-education/
Reactions to Arne Duncan’s departure illustrate national divide over education
Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s announcement on Friday that he plans to step down later this year was greeted by a range of reactions that illustrate how deeply divided the country is over the Obama administration’s education policies.
Former California congressman George Miller, a Democrat who worked closely with Duncan as chairman of the House education committee, called Duncan’s departure “a huge loss,” and said no one has been more committed to improving the education of the nation’s most disadvantaged children.
Gus Morales, a Massachussetts teacher and member of the Badass Teachers Association, a fierce critic of Duncan’s policies, called him “one of the most destructive people to hold the title of Secretary of Education.”
[Duncan, a close Obama friend, to leave Ed. Department with mixed legacy]
Taking over the Education Department in December will be John B. King Jr., a former New York state education chief who has as many fervent supporters and critics as Duncan. Like Duncan, King supports charter schools, Common Core standards and teacher evaluations tied to test scores, and speaks often about the need for greater equity in the nation’s public schools.
Here’s a roundup of reactions to Duncan’s departure:
Chris Minnich, executive director of Council of Chief State School Officers:
Secretary Duncan has been a champion for students across the country. It has been an honor to work with him in the pursuit of better outcomes for all kids. He is a sincere, committed leader who has been a partner with state chiefs in advancing student achievement for all kids. I wish him the best in his future endeavors, and I look forward to working with John King to ensure a seamless transition for states and students.
Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, which had called for Duncan’s resignation:
The National Education Association wishes Sec. Duncan well in his future endeavors.
NEA and Sec. Duncan have always been in clear agreement that we need to strengthen public education and make sure all students have the opportunity to succeed. He has made important strides in the promotion of early childhood education, college affordability and teacher leadership.
We’ve also had our disagreements. There is a lot to be done to ensure the success of all our students, including fixing overtesting and making sure every child in every ZIP CODE has a quality education.
Teach for America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard:
To borrow a favorite phrase from Arne Duncan, leadership matters tremendously in education—in classrooms, school districts, states and in Washington. For nearly seven years as Secretary of Education, Arne has demonstrated courageous and humble leadership and generous, nonpartisan partnership.
Arne has encouraged a national conversation about the importance of equity and excellence for all of America’s students. That dialogue is most effective when people with diverse viewpoints, who share a common belief in the potential of all kids and communities, come together to tackle our biggest challenges. The conversation and collaboration that Arne encouraged will and must continue, and so must the progress for students, educators and our country that is resulting from it.
Stepping in for Arne is another inspiring leader, John King, who brings to this work a very personal understanding of the power of educators to change lives. Teach For America appreciates the tremendous support from John, Arne and President Obama for the communities we serve and for teachers, principals and other leaders working every day to fulfill the potential of our nation and our children.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten:
We wish Arne Duncan only the best. When President Obama and Arne Duncan came into office, we were in the midst of a great recession. We are grateful for the stimulus money we all fought for because it provided a crucial lifeline to schools throughout the country suffering from crippling austerity and budget cuts. We also want to acknowledge the work to lower student debt, protect students from predatory practices by for-profit colleges, provide equity for low-income children, expand early childhood education and highlight the importance of teacher leadership and career and technical education.
At the same time, there’s no question that the Department of Education’s fixation on charters and high-stakes testing has not worked. Deep public discontent, parental anger, teacher demoralization and the teacher shortage have their roots in the misuse of testing. Equally concerning is the move at the department and in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia to once again squeeze out or close many public schools and replace them with charters, an approach that is becoming the new silver bullet. That’s why we are disappointed to hear that Deputy Secretary of Education John King Jr. will be appointed as the acting secretary. No one doubts John’s commitment to children, but his tenure as New York state’s education commissioner created so much polarization in the state with parents and educators alike that even Gov. Andrew Cuomo is finally doing a mea culpa over the obsession with testing. We can only hope that King has learned a thing or two since his tenure in New York.”
Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Schools:
We applaud Secretary Duncan for his leadership on behalf of all the nation’s students and schools. Duncan placed a priority on working to ensure equity for all students, advanced innovation in education, and has been committed to ensuring students from all backgrounds have access to high quality public schools.
In particular, his leadership on behalf of the federal Charter Schools Program has enabled the dramatic growth in the number of high quality charter schools, ensuring that hundreds of thousands more students now have access to better schools regardless of their family income or zip code.
The National Alliance thanks Duncan for his service.
Jim Stergios, executive director of the anti-Common Core Pioneer Institute:
Secretary Arne Duncan liked to describe the U.S. Department of Education’s policies as “game-changing. Nearly seven years and hundreds of billions of dollars later, the data demonstrate that his efforts were anything but effective at improving student achievement.
His thin record delivering results for students is evident in our NAEP scores and performance on international tests. The School Improvement Grant program and reform agenda for colleges achieved little. And then there is his deeply troubling penchant to ignore federal laws and force the federal government into state and local decisions in K-12 education.
What started out as an administration that talked up the education decentralization through new charter schools quickly morphed into the usual Washington-knows-best approach that we have come to expect from the Lyndon B. Johnson Building.
Finally, his tenure was marked by a willingness to bypass congressional approval and ignore U.S. law. Three federal laws explicitly prohibit USED from funding, directing, or validating national standards, testing and curriculum materials; the Race to the Top, department-issued conditional waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act, and two federally funded testing consortia violated each of those prohibitions.
George Miller, former Democratic congressman from California who chaired the House education committee from 2007 to 2011:
Miller praised Duncan’s efforts to preserve federal funds meant for the education of poor and disabled children, as well as his efforts to hold schools accountable for the education they provide.
“He’s been very strong, and when Congress got itself into the gridlock that they continue to be in, he made the decision — he and the president — that they were going to create Race to the Top so that those states that wanted to move to the future had the opportunity to do so. I think that was very important because so many students would continue to have be denied opportunities if he didn’t help states recognize their obligation to move to the future. … It’s not a perfect solution but he unfortunately had to work around the Congress. … He had no other choice.”
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate education committee:
Arne Duncan was one of the president’s best appointments. He has a big heart, cares about children, and I have enjoyed working with him. When we disagree, it is usually because he believes the path to effective teaching, higher standards, and real accountability is through Washington, DC, and I believe it should be in the hands of states, communities, parents and classroom teachers.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate education committee:
Anyone who has spent any time with Secretary Duncan knows he is passionate about giving every student in America the chance to excel in the classroom, build their skills, and set out on a path toward the American Dream. From understanding the incredible importance of early childhood education, to closing achievement gaps, and working to bring down the rising costs of college, Secretary Duncan has never stopped working to make sure all students get access to a quality education, regardless of where they live, how they learn, or how much money their parents make.
I have been proud to work with him as we fight to fix the badly broken No Child Left Behind law, and I look forward to his continued engagement over the next few months as Congress works to finish this bipartisan process and send President Obama a bill that he can sign into law.
I truly thank Secretary Duncan for his dedication, his service, and his great work toward fulfilling the promise of a quality education for all students across our country.
Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House education committee:
Secretary Duncan has been a dedicated public servant for nearly 15 years, including more than six years leading the Department of Education. It goes without saying that we have had our disagreements, but I have never doubted his commitment to America’s students. He has traveled the country urging states and schools to raise the bar on student achievement, and while some of his decisions have been controversial, he has challenged us to make education reform a national priority. Arne is to be commended for his service to our country, and I wish him, his wife Karen, and his family all the best in the years ahead.
Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the House education committee:
As secretary, Arne has prioritized K-12 education, pushed for a renewed ESEA that is worthy of the President’s signature, found new ways to make college more affordable and campuses safer, advocated for more fair and balanced school discipline policies, and has focused on ways to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. I’ve been happy to count him as a partner in this work, as I introduced the Youth P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Act and the Youth Justice Act earlier this year. Arne has been an outspoken advocate for closing the achievement gaps that persist in too many of our schools, and a stalwart champion for the students and families the system often leaves behind. I deeply appreciate his service and friendship, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
The effective leadership that has been the hallmark of Arne’s tenure as Secretary is not leaving the Department. I look forward to continued partnership in the fight to opening doors for all of America’s children with Deputy Secretary John King as he assumes this new role. Dr. King has spent his career dedicated to expanding educational opportunity for historically underserved students. As a former teacher, a school leader and a leader of school systems, Dr. King knows firsthand the direct impact the programs and policies of the Department have on families.
Badass Teachers Association:
Today the White House confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be stepping down. The Badass Teachers Association, an education activist organization with over 70,000 supporters nationwide, celebrate this decision. Sadly, at the same time we rejoice the resignation of a man who has done more destruction to public education than any other sitting Secretary, we are horrified that President Obama has chosen to replace him with John King. John King is the former Commissioner of Education in New York.
John King’s tenure in New York was one of controversy and with an established agenda of dismantling public education by using corporate education reform tactics. King was run out of New York in 2014 because of a staggering test opt out rate, because he ignored and dismissed parents at education forums, and because he refused to fix an education system that he himself destroyed. The state teachers union, NYSUT, had a unanimous vote of no confidence in him prior to his departure.
Rick Hess, director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute:
Arne Duncan is a good man with an impressive, sincere commitment to serving the nation’s students. Many of the ideas he has championed—like better teacher evaluation, charter schooling, and evidence-based grant-making—are good ones.
Unfortunately, he too often pursued his agenda in troubling ways and in a manner that has created worrisome precedents. His sincere commitment too often manifested itself as a disregard for limits on the federal role and for possible unintended consequences of a too-heavy federal hand.
Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:
Secretary Duncan’s commitment to advancing the civil and human rights of all students will be long-remembered as a hallmark of his tenure at the Department of Education.
Under his leadership, the department made historic advances in addressing school discipline and resource disparities, providing data on educational opportunities for vulnerable students, expanding access to high-quality early childhood education, addressing campus sexual assault and reining in the for-profit college industry.
We look forward to working with John King to strengthen these initiatives, to preserve the civil rights legacy of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in Congress and to expand educational opportunities for all students.
barf
This is the first post in a long time for which I actually cursed out loud at my computer. All of the vitriol I’d like to post here I will refrain from so doing. Yikes. Duncan and King – heroes – who knew? Vomit.
It’s a bad time when 8 teachers stay late working on paperwork, etc. and continue the frustrating conversation into the parking lot for 30 min. I found out today that as a self-contained sped teacher of k-2 I am actually 8 courses! And they want online grading…….this is not education.
PS. Richmond isn’t in a good state of mind.