No Child Left Behind began national school reform under George Bush eight years ago. Barack Obama has shaped his philosophies on education based on Arne Duncan’s views. What can be expected in the next four years?
Change
Obama’s presidential campaign was based on change. While people never quite knew what change was coming for sure, change seemed to be a popular campaign slogan. When it comes to education, change would be welcome in many areas. However, just what change is coming?
Arne Duncan, Chicago’s Chief Education Executive
Arne Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987. He was a sociology major who was co-captain of Harvard's basketball team. He was also named a first team Academic All-American. He played professional basketball in Australia from 1987-1991. In 1992 Duncan became the director of the Ariel Education Initiative on Chicago's South Side. The program improved education opportunities for disadvantaged children. He began working for the Chicago Public Schools in 1998. In 2006 he was named Citizen of the Year in Chicago.
In 2001 Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Duncan as Chicago’s CEO in education. While this may seem like an honor for someone not holding a degree in education, Chicago schools were known as one of the worst if not the worst in the nation. Bill Bennett, former Secretary of Education, spoke at an in-service in Chicago and thanked school administration for inviting him to the armpit of education. This was not exactly a motivational speech but it was a statement focusing on the sad state of affairs in Chicago public schools. Chicago is also well known for corruption in government and heaviness in bureaucracy. Behind closed doors, citizens jokingly boast of having the best government money can buy.
So Why Duncan?
If Chicago has all this working against it, why select someone out of this quagmire to be Secretary of Education? Obama is a pragmatist. He’s looking for people with ideas and innovation – change. Duncan has changed how some things are done in Chicago.
Chicago has 408,000 public school students and is only smaller to Los Angeles and New York City. In the seven years Duncan has been at the helm, he has not embraced the status quo but change.
- Teacher training has been reinvented.
- Low performing schools have opened with new teachers.
- Charter schools have opened.
- Students offered money for good grades.
- Supported a gay-friendly high school.
- Supports boarding schools.
One could say that Duncan has no fear of shaking things up a bit. He enjoys upending local school culture. Since Duncan has taken charge, fewer students are dropping out and more are going to college. Advanced Placement classes have tripled in the seven years he has been overseeing the Chicago public schools. While Chicago students are still below the state average, the gap is closing.
Chicago Teachers Changing
Performance-pay has been enthusiastically received by many Chicago teachers while it is not well received by unions. Teachers earn extra pay for taking on extra classes, seeing test scores rise, and trying new ideas. If a new teaching method is found to work, it is shared with an entire school. Duncan is looking for creative solutions to difficult problems.
Duncan Works Well With Differing Opinions
While Duncan has the last word, he listens to individuals with conflicting ideas on reform. He works well with unions and those that oppose unions. He listens to those that want to keep many things as they are and those that want to make dramatic changes.
"There will be disagreements, but Duncan’s personality is going to minimize the negativity. You get a feeling of somebody who is willing to listen and be open to ideas," says Jack Jennings, president and chief executive of the Center on Education Policy in the District. [Maria Glod, washingtonpost.com, "Chicago School Reform Could Be a U.S. Model", December 30, 2008]
Arne Duncan, A New Face in Education
Margaret Spellings precedes Duncan as Secretary of Education and will be remembered for her heavy handed enforcement of No Child Left Behind. While Arne Duncan may be an unknown, he is likely to be in the news often as a strong supporter of change in education. He is open to new ideas that may work, listens to divergent views and strongly supports success. People in education may be in for quite a ride the next few years. Those that have been proposing changes in the past will likely find strong support in Duncan.
Source: Maria Glod, washingtonpost.com, "Chicago School Reform Could Be a U.S. Model", December 30, 2008
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