Acting education secretary says teachers saved him

The man who will succeed Education Secretary Arne Duncan has both an inspirational personal story and a record of controversy in what’s become a national debate over the Common Core learning standards.

Like every education secretary, much of the focus of Duncan’s tenure has been on elementary and secondary education, and it is primarily that work for which he will probably be remembered (positively and negatively) by most Americans. But as he leaves his post this December, his forceful strategy to push dramatic changes to the U.S education system is being tested.

In an email to his staff, Duncan said he’s returning to Chicago to live with his family. After graduating from Harvard, he went on to become a teacher and co-founded a charter school in Boston.

But Duncan’s resignation comes as Congress is deliberating over reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind law and considering rewrites that would limit the ability of the education department to get involved in state policy, leaving many wondering whether Duncan’s seven years of intense reforms will stick.

Duncan and Obama came into office after the 2008 election at a time when Spellings and Bush had alienated many leaders in higher education with plentiful rhetoric about higher education’s failings and an aggressive push to hold colleges more accountable for measuring the learning outcomes of their students. “But what I saw was the difference between his ideas and the implementation – there was a gap there, to those of us who were really in the trenches”. Donovan, however, first served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Duncan is one of just a few remaining members of Obama’s original cabinet. His first attempt was so failed, that the following community meetings were cancelled in order for him to regroup before he tried again.

“We were responsible. We had met the enemy, and it was us”, Duncan said.

“He has placed America’s children and their academic success at the center of his work every day of his tenure, often challenging the most intransigent and powerful special interests in our political system to do so”, Daniels wrote in a statement.

King will serve in the new role on an acting basis for the remainder of Obama’s presidency, and he will not be a formal appointee which means he will not require Congressional approval, writes the Associated Press. Ultimately, a few 20 percent of children statewide did not take this year’s tests.

Most states bowed to the pressure.

Duncan showed little patience for criticism of the program and the standards. Progressives protested the increased emphasis on tests.

He led the rollout of RTTT in New York with the Common Core Standards, student assessments, and teacher accountability.

Arne Duncan, a member of President Obama’s inner circle and the second-longest-serving education secretary ever, announced Friday that he will resign in December. 4, 2011 in Miami Fla.

Over the years, animosity from the teachers union grew. Now a teacher at Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School in Brooklyn, Duru praised King for pushing the Common Core, which she said is better preparing her students.

Early education advocates were also grateful for the administration’s elevation of early education.

As secretary, Duncan prioritized K-12 education and made his first signature initiative the Race to the Top program, in which states competed for federal grants.

On the right, Republicans and state leaders accused Duncan of a heavy-handed federal approach that sidestepped lawmakers and enforced top-down policies on local schools.

In an interview with Education Week last month, Duncan was unapologetic about the direction he’d taken. Are income-driven repayment plans the reason? He also urged the education department to promote integration so it could revamp low-performing schools.

Duncan was one of Obama’s major players who used executive power in response to congressional gridlock.

John B. King Jr. was named the replacement for U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who choked up on national television Friday announcing his resignation.

Several individuals expressed support and admiration for Duncan, citing his efforts to invest in technology, empower students of color, and more. Respect and affection were evident between Duncan and the POTUS in the press conference.

“Secretary Duncan, like all his predecessors, was mostly focused on elementary and secondary education, but unlike most of his predecessors, he significantly expanded the federal role in higher education”, said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the American Council on Education.