Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for December 17, 2008 MEET ARNE DUNCAN

By Kathleen Kingsbury

A willingness to compromise. In the heated world of education politics, that was the clearest message coming from President-elect Barack Obama when he tapped Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan to become the next Secretary of Education.

Duncan, 44, has overseen the nation's third-largest school district and its more than 400,000 students for the past seven years. He's considered by most to be a quiet consensus builder. In Chicago, his knack for forging alliances can be seen in his strong relationship with the local teachers' union despite his embrace of reforms the union is leery of, including school choice, pay for performance and a willingness to close down failing schools. "Duncan mirrors the President-elect's style of governing — get all sides around the table, listen carefully and experiment with meaningful reforms," says Bruce Fuller, a professor of education at the University of California, Berkeley. "While tough-headed, he's rarely antagonistic, nor a kick-butt, take-names kind of reformer."

One other big plus: Duncan will be sure to have the President-elect's ear. They are personal friends and often play basketball together, most recently on Election Day. Like Obama, Duncan is Harvard-educated, and his Chicago roots run deep. The schools chief grew up in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood, where the Obamas have lived for several years. He went to the same private school the President-elect's daughters attended until recently. After Harvard, where he was co-captain of the basketball team, Duncan spent a year playing the sport in Australia before returning to his hometown in 1992. Within short order, he was garnering national attention for starting an innovative — and successful — public school, Ariel Community Academy. He was tapped by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to run the city's schools in 2001.

On the campaign trail, Obama frequently applauded what Duncan has accomplished in Chicago, long considered to have one of the country's most challenging school districts. Under Duncan's watch, the city's schools for the past seven years have seen increases in some state test scores, though they continue to lag behind the Illinois average. But the graduation rate has risen 6%, and 53 new schools have opened. Duncan has spearheaded merit-pay incentives for both teachers and students as well, and suggested opening the country's first gay-friendly high school. In each of these endeavors, he has tried to get the backing of Chicago's often recalcitrant teachers' union. This effort has earned him praise from both of the nation's largest teachers' unions.

If confirmed by the Senate, Duncan will have to hit the ground running. One of Congress's first acts of business in 2009 will likely be negotiating the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush Administration's landmark education legislation, which has managed to rankle both Republicans (for interfering with state initiatives) and Democrats (for placing so much emphasis on standardized testing). Duncan supports the law's overall mission of accountability, and two years ago called on Congress to double the funding for it. "In an education landscape filled with strong and often sharply contrasting ideas, I believe that he will provide the leadership needed to bring diverse stakeholders together and break through the political gridlock," says California Representative George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

In recent years, the U.S. education sector has roughly divided into two camps: unions that support more traditional views on teacher tenure and other issues vs. hard-line reformers such as district chiefs Michelle Rhee in Washington and Joel Klein in New York City, who stress accountability. This past summer, both sides circulated competing education manifestos laying out their views. Duncan was the only big-city superintendent to sign each.

In straddling these camps, Duncan echoes Obama's frustration with what the President-elect has called "tired educational debates." In his announcement of Duncan's nomination, Obama made clear that he wants to move past such standoffs. "It's been Democrat vs. Republican, vouchers vs. the status quo, more money vs. more reform," he said. "There's partisanship and there's bickering, but no understanding that both sides have good ideas and good intentions."

In a testament to Duncan's entrepreneurial spirit, Obama chose to introduce his new schools chief at the Dodge Renaissance Academy on Chicago's West Side. Duncan shuttered the failing school in 2002 and reopened it in 2005 as a laboratory for teachers seeking advanced degrees in education. The school has since been hailed as a model for teacher-residency programs. Dodge is "helping us rethink the way we train teachers in this country, and the way we run schools," says Ted Mitchell, president of the California board of education. "We're delighted that the President-elect has recognized that promise. It fits with his vision of positive change."

How much change are schools in for? Duncan, who is particularly attuned to the achievement gap between high- and low-income students, has hinted that he does not approve of the way Illinois schools receive the bulk of their funding from local tax revenue. "It's morally inexcusable that children who happen to be born in wealthier communities, white ones, get a better education than those who live in poor communities," Duncan told TIME last August. "Clearly, as a state, we've lacked the political courage to fundamentally challenge the status quo, not just tweak it at its edges." He added, "It doesn't need a tweak. It needs a fundamental change."

From the Chicago Tribune...

Arne Duncan to tackle 'No Child' policy as Obama's education secretary Duncan to tackle 'No Child' law

By Tara Malone and Carlos Sadovi
Tribune reporters

When Arne Duncan heads to Washington, his driving task will be to rethink No Child Left Behind, the all-or-nothing law that has shaped how every child and every classroom in the country is judged.

As President-elect Barack Obama's pick for U.S. education secretary, Duncan, the fast-rising South Sider tapped to head Chicago Public Schools in 2001, is expected to be more flexible with a reform criticized for its rigidity.

Students almost surely will still have to take high-stakes tests, but Duncan and Obama have said they hope to find a more nuanced way of evaluating whether schools succeed or stumble. Classrooms from Carpentersville to Compton could stand to gain as a result.

"He wants to make it work and hopefully see more carrot and less stick," said Jesse Ruiz, chairman of the state Board of Education.

Duncan, 44, has publicly lauded the high expectations and accountability of No Child Left Behind, but also faulted its one-size-fits-all approach and limited funding. As Chicago schools chief, he worked to give schools some latitude in meeting the law's ever-increasing demands and challenged Congress to double funding.

Short on specifics Tuesday, Duncan said he plans to sit down with teachers, administrators and business leaders across the country before he decides the law's future. An academic leader with a reputation for drawing talented people with competing views to the table in Chicago, Duncan said he plans to do the same on the national stage.

"The ideas behind [the law] make a lot of sense. You want to look hard at the data," Duncan said.

Balls and books

Obama formally named Duncan, his basketball buddy and fellow Harvard alumnus, as his pick for education secretary Tuesday at a news conference at Dodge Renaissance Academy on the West Side, highlighting a school that closed, reorganized, opened anew and improved its academic standing under Duncan's stewardship. Obama complimented Duncan's practical approach to education reform.

"For Arne, school reform isn't just a theory in a book. It's the cause of his life," Obama said.

If confirmed, Duncan would be only the second school schools chief to become the nation's top education leader. Former Houston Supt. Rod Paige was the first under President George W. Bush.

Neither Obama nor Duncan uttered the words "No Child Left Behind" at their news conference. Nevertheless, experts cite as their primary task the pending reform of the law, a 2001 Bush initiative that aimed to have all children read and do math at grade level by 2014. The law's renewal is a year overdue as Congress awaited the new administration.

Michael Petrilli, a former top aide at the U.S. Education Department under Bush who works with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said he suspects Duncan may back away from the 2014 deadline, often described as well-intentioned but unrealistic. Other experts suspect Duncan instead may focus on the skill level every student needs to achieve upon graduating high school.

Still, Washington insiders said the law's reauthorization is unlikely to be one of Duncan's first tasks when he steps into the new post.

The proposed economic stimulus package includes funding for school construction, an item Duncan may tackle before he even arrives in Washington, said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy. Duncan and Obama also may focus on the issues of college affordability or early childhood education during the first few months in office, experts said.

Duncan's authority to enforce regulations with his new Cabinet post— like when current Secretary Margaret Spellings required a uniform method to calculate graduation rates—likely will complement his public presence.

"There's always the bully pulpit," said Cindy Brown, director of education policy with the Center for American Progress.

Practicing politics

He brings to the task a decade of experience at Chicago schools, the nation's third-largest system. Duncan's efforts to restructure struggling schools, experiment with incentive pay for teachers in high-poverty schools and reward students with money for grades earned him critics and champions alike.

Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart offered a qualified endorsement. She credited Duncan with trying to get more money for public education, but sparred with him over school closings and restructuring that a union spokeswoman said cost her organization more than 2,000 teachers and support personnel.

Many rank-and-file teachers weren't as supportive. Daniel Boone Elementary teacher Wade Tillett, also a district parent, plans to protest Duncan's appointment Wednesday in Federal Plaza with a group of teachers and parents.

"He spent a lot of time using NCLB and test scores to close down quite a few public schools and turn them over to charters," Tillett said.

DePaul University professor Barbara Radner said the Cabinet post may well reveal a new side of Duncan, who was a professional basketball player in Australia before Mayor Richard Daley picked him for city school executive.

"He's had to respond to a city in a hurry and a lot of what he knows needs to be done takes time," said Radner, director of DePaul's Center for Urban Education. "I think we'll see the real Arne Duncan."