One of Obama’s first appointments was Arne Duncan to Secretary of Education. Who is Arne Duncan? One thing he isn’t is a teacher. Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1987 as a sociology major.
Duncan has Chicago Connections
In 2001, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Arne Duncan as Chicago’s CEO in education to make changes. And, President Obama selected him to reform education in the United States. Just what did Duncan do in Chicago schools? He shook them up a bit. Under Duncan, teacher training was reinvented and low performing schools have new teachers to improve old problems. Duncan is a great supporter of charter schools; therefore, Obama is a supporter of charter schools. Duncan also supports boarding schools and gay-friendly high schools.
Duncan thinks out of the box and is looking for new ideas that work. And, those new ideas have paid off in Chicago because the dropout rate is lower, more students are going to college, and Advanced Placement classes have tripled during Duncan’s seven years at the helm in Chicago. [1]
Obama Supports Merit Pay
On the campaign trail, teacher unions made their opinions well-known about merit pay. This goes against the traditional salary schedules in schools that unions support. Increases in pay are currently based on levels of education and experience. Master teachers get paid no more than marginal teachers under the current system. Obama wants to shake it up in the U.S. like Duncan shook things up in Chicago.
"The president is making a strong statement that he wants teaching shaken up. I presume the unions will not be very happy, but I doubt they will take a strident position in opposition because Obama has said he wants to work with local unions in fashioning these types of programs," says Jack Jennings, president of the Washington D.C.-based Center on Education Policy. [2]
The strongest concern for the unions is merit pay being tied to student test scores. Educators know that teachers are only one component to a child doing well in school. Teachers should not hold the sole blame when students are not learning. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel states, "Money should be tied to quality professional development." [2]
Obama Budget for School Reform
Obama has proposed a $47 billion budget that gives the public a glimpse of the future in education.
- Performance pay programs
- Encourage master teachers to work in lowest-performing schools
- Expand education research
- Transform struggling schools
- Reward teachers that take a leadership role
The unions are very quiet on these issues awaiting specifics and the opportunity to give input, as promised.
Obama Cuts Abstinence-Only Funding
In May of 2009, President Obama cut funding to abstinence-only sex education programs. The funding will instead go into programs that "reduce" teenage pregnancies. The CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics stated in March of 2009 that U.S. teenage pregnancies have risen in 2006 and 2007 for the first time after a long decline. [3] Statistics need to be evaluated further to determine if there is one group that is at risk more than another.
Who Obama selected for Secretary of Education is very significant. The voters wanted change and they are going to get it. Schools will soon discover if the changes are going to improve learning.
Related articles: Get Pregnant as Teen, Get Fat?, 20,000 Milwaukee Students Use Vouchers.
[1] Glod, Maria. "Chicago School Reform Could Be a U.S. Model".. Washingtonpost.com, December 30, 2008.
[2] Glod, Maria. "Budget Outlines Funding for Teacher Merit Pay Programs". Washingtonpost.com, May 7, 2009.
[3] JoAnne Allen. "Obama budget cuts funds for 'abstinence-only'". Reuters, May 7, 2008.
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