Let's face it. For the next week it's going to be Duncan, Duncan, Duncan... No getting around it.
Deb Meier and I will be on topic, on Democracy Now radio & TV tomorrow. Here's more from LDH, me and the unions at EDWEEK:
Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University education professor and the leader of the education policy team for the Obama transition, praised Mr. Duncan as a “very thoughtful and collaborative reformer” who “is deeply steeped in urban education.”
Mr. Klonsky praised Mr. Duncan’s support for small schools in the city. But he also said he has been concerned that as part of the work of growing the small schools concept there, Mr. Duncan has helped fuel a trend toward using private companies to manage schools. Mr. Klonsky said he has also been troubled that Mr. Duncan and Mayor Daley have eliminated local school councils at some schools, making it harder for parents and others to influence and access the goings-on at their schools.
"While we have not always agreed with the Board of Education policies that Mr. Duncan has been given to carry out, we have been fortunate in convincing him that … collaborative initiatives by labor and management are positive means to solving the challenges of public education,” said a statement by Marilyn Stewart, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
Jo Anderson, the executive director of the Illinois Education Association, said in a statement: “In our experience, Arne Duncan is committed to working with others, including the unions, to promote excellence and equity in public education.” The IEA is an affiliate of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.
Here's the thing that makes me all itchy about Arne as Secretary of
ReplyDeleteEducation: those 800 cut positions from specialized services two years ago, and
cuts in that department that keep on spreading, and a tendency toward denial of required services to children of special needs for illegal (budgetary) reasons, and a new head of OSS who seems to be completely unresponsive to parent and school demands. I realize things are tough all over, and money's tight, and this doesn't all fall on Arne's shoulders, but after all, he's in charge and, I think, is responsible for the people who are making discriminatory policy decisions that affect the education of exceptional children. I hope he'll have a different approach when he's in a different position, but I'm not terribly hopeful. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know. I'm just saying, that's all. I wish I felt differently--the days after the election, I was so excited. I want that honeymoon feeling back!
December 17, 2008 8:28 PM