A Report Card for Education Secretary Arne Duncan

[johnkarls]

.
*************************
At our January 14th meeting, we launched one of our six-degrees-of-separation letter campaigns to send to President Obama (and request all of our friends and acquaintances to do the same, both writing and requesting all of their friends and acquaintances in an unending chain) the following message:

President Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President:

Re: Separate BUT UNEQUAL Public Schools

Single-digit high school graduation rates and the overwhelming majority of households headed by single-adult druggies who turn over any receipts to the pusher so the kids have to steal just in order to eat were typical conditions for the first 180 I-Have-A-Dream Programs in 50 American cities as documented by John Karls, IHAD's volunteer national treasurer in the 1990's. He also documented that A SURROGATE PARENT (a tutor, mentor, etc., who is able to bond with the Dreamer) is THE ONLY FACTOR CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A QUANTUM TRANSFORMATION OF H.S. GRADUATION RATES from single digits to 65%-70%. (For further details, please see http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org.)

In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2007 reversal of Brown v. Board and return to separate AND UNEQUAL public schools, and faced with the inconvenient truth that America has produced a permanent inner-city under-class despite identical-twin studies that consistently show that inner-city IQ's are equal to suburban IQ's, we respectfully recommend:

(1) that a portion of your proposed economic-stimulus funds be used to replace some of the failing inner-city schools with federally financed and operated K-12 magnet schools that attract suburban students whose families will become SURROGATE FAMILIES for the inner-city students; and

(2) that as such federal K-12 magnet schools prove their worth, you dedicate a portion of the $10 billion/month savings from winding up the war in Iraq to replacing all failing inner-city schools with such federal K-12 magnet schools.

*****
The "talking heads" shows on TV have stated that Education Secretary Arne Duncan has $5 billion OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS in the new federal budget just going to Conference Committee to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions -- THAT SECRETARY DUNCAN CAN SPEND ANY WAY HE SEES FIT.

It is suggested that we parse through material written by or about Secretary Duncan to ascertain whether he is likely to implement our recommendation to President Obama.

And, SINCE THE WAY IN WHICH SECRETARY DUNCAN WILL SPEND HIS DISCRETIONARY $5 BILLION IN FUNDING WILL LIKELY BE "CAST IN CEMENT" SHORTLY AFTER APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET LATER THIS MONTH, it is suggested that we now re-direct our six-degrees-of-separation campaign to Secretary Duncan himself ("fine tuned" to take into account whatever we discover about what has been said by or about Secretary Duncan).

*****
Items currently available on Amazon.com =

Chicago's Renaissance 2010: building on school reform in the age of accountability: in response to Mr. Ayers and Mr. Klonsky, Mr. Duncan argues that Chicago's ... Reform): An article from: Phi Delta Kappan by Arne Duncan (Digital - April 11, 2006) - HTML Buy: $5.95 Available for download now

Chicago's proven results.(corresponde... to the Editor): An article from: Education Next by Arne Duncan (Digital - April 19, 2005) - HTML
Buy: $5.95 Available for download now

How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Updated Edition by David Bornstein (Paperback - Sep 17, 2007)
Buy new: $15.95 $10.85 - 61 Used & new from $9.15 - Excerpt - page 180: "... In Chicago the superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan, committed to implement and pay for the whole-school model in ..."

The Obama Education Plan: An Education Week Guide by Education Week (Paperback - Feb 9, 2009)
Buy new: $14.95 $8.70 36 Used & new from $7.83 - Excerpt - page 31: "... our children to jump over, that doesn't make any sense," Arne Duncan, the chief executive officer of the 408, ..."

*****
Items soon to be available on Amazon.com

Most laud Obama's choice for education post: Arne Duncan's supporters praise his inner-city reforms, while others decry his lack of experience on higher ... from: Diverse Issues in Higher Education by Karen Branch-Brioso and Charles Dervarics (Digital - Jan 22, 2009) - HTML
Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.

Inheriting the education wars.(WASHINGTON COMMENTARY): An article from: Phi Delta Kappan by Anne C. Lewis (Digital - Feb 27, 2009) - HTML
Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.

What they're saying.: An article from: Curriculum Review by Gale Reference Team (Digital - Feb 9, 2009) - HTML
Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.

Straddling the Democratic divide: will reforms follow Obama's spending on education?(feature): An article from: Education Next by Richard Lee Colvin (Digital - Mar 25, 2009) - HTML
Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.

*************************
Per ED.gov – the official website of the U.S. Office of Education

PRESS RELEASE – Published February 26, 2009

Education Secretary Duncan Highlights Budget Proposals to Increase College Access and Affordability

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today highlighted provisions of the Department of Education's proposed FY 2010 budget overview that would dramatically expand student financial aid while making it simpler, more reliable and more efficient. "We need to invest in our economic future and enable our kids to compete in today's global environment. America's students and workers need a higher level of education and training," Duncan said.

"President Obama's proposed budget calls for a historic investment to make college more affordable and accessible and to help more students succeed once they get there."

"The new funding announced today represents a significant expansion of our federal student aid programs, providing more dollars to allow more students to attend more schools," he said.

The secretary noted that the proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Education builds on the historic increases in the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) by taking additional steps to advance education reform and restore the nation's economy. The ARRA would provide an additional $17 billion for Pell Grants in Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010; the current year funding is $16.2 billion, with 6.1 million students participating.

The stimulus package is also providing nearly $14 billion in tuition tax credits for middle class families, raising the credit to $2,500 from $1,800.

Details of the FY 2010 budget proposal will be released in late April. The budget overview issued today contains provisions that would:

(1) Guarantee funding for the Federal Pell Grant program and ensure that grant amounts would keep pace with inflation. By making funding mandatory, the Pell Grant program would no longer be subject to the discretionary budget process, would eliminate uncertainty in funding from year to year, and would ensure that the grants reflect cost of living increases. Beginning with academic year 2010-2011, the Pell grant maximum would be indexed to the consumer price index plus one percent, thus ensuring that Pell grant awards would meet their original objective to cover a substantial percentage of college costs. The maximum for the 2010-11 academic year would be $5,550.

(2) Make college loans reliable, stable and efficient, thus eliminating uncertainty families have experienced due to the turmoil of the financial markets. All new student and parent loans would be provided directly from the federal government through the same electronic system that colleges use for Pell Grants. Taxpayers would save more than $4 billion a year in reduced entitlement subsidies, and those funds could be reinvested in more aid to students seeking a higher education. Private sector companies would continue to perform loan collection and related services through performance-based contracts with the Department of Education.

(3) Restructure and expand the Federal Perkins Loan Program to ensure that all colleges and universities can take part in the program. The revamped Perkins program would provide $6 billion in loans every year, a significant increase from the current $1 billion in funding. Funds would be distributed to reward schools that provide more need-based aid to students and that maintain reasonable student costs relative to other schools in their sector. As now structured, the formula for distributing Perkins loans is weighted by a decades-old formula that favors particular schools, as well as schools that increase college tuition, rather than to those that keep costs down. Colleges and universities participating would increase from 1,800 to 4,400.

Secretary Duncan also noted that the budget overview includes a $500 million grant program for a new federal-state-local partnership to improve retention and graduation rates, particularly for low-income college students. Funds would support research into what works to help increase college completion.

"Currently, our young people face too many financial and other hurdles to obtaining a college education," Duncan said. "With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the proposals announced today, we are taking several major steps to clear those hurdles."

"By ensuring that higher education is affordable and accessible for all our young people, we will make certain that our nation is prepared to compete in an information-age economy," he said.

Information on the U.S. Department of Education budget overview is available at: http://www.ed.gov.

*************************
New Secretary of Education Arne Duncan: What It Could Mean for Kids
by Johanna Sorrentino for http://www.Education.com
(Undated – but it must have been written/posted in Jan/Feb judging from the last sentence which talks about Duncan’s appointment “now going to the Senate for confirmation”!!!)

Reading Liberally Editorial Note = This article appeared on http://www.Education.com, the first of 2 sponsored links on Amazon.com re Arne Duncan. Re http://www.Education.com, CBS News reported: As anyone who’s ever raised a child can testify, parents sometimes need a bit of help and advice. After all, kids don’t come with a user manual. A new website launched Wednesday — with advertising and a big boost from venture capital — is designed to provide a bit of help and support.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised America a “new vision” for a 21st century education system, and the person he has selected to lead that vision is superintendent of Chicago schools Arne Duncan.

As Secretary of Education, Duncan will be tasked with turning around No Child Left Behind, closing the achievement gap, finding and retaining high-quality teachers for America's classrooms, and ensuring that graduates have the 21st century skills needed to compete in the global economy.

Obama says Duncan is well-equipped to tackle these issues head-on: “When it comes to school reform, Arne is the most hands-on of hands-on practitioners. For Arne, school reform isn’t just a theory in a book – it’s the cause of his life. And the results aren’t just about test scores or statistics, but about whether our children are developing the skills they need to compete with any worker in the world for any job.”

Since 2001, Duncan has run the Chicago School District, the third largest in the country, with a focus on transforming weak schools, closing failing ones, and improving teacher quality. He is known as an innovative reformer, who has called for high quality education as the key to fighting poverty, strengthening the economy, and promoting opportunity. “It is the civil rights issue of our generation and it is the one sure path to a more equal, fair and just society,” Duncan says. “While there are no simple answers, I know from experience that when you focus on basics like reading and math, when you embrace innovative new approaches to learning, and when you create a professional climate that attracts great teachers -- you can make a difference for children."

As the political pundits debate Obama's latest in a series of bold appointments, parents and educators in the field are wondering what this will mean for America's kids. Here is where Duncan stands on the leading education issues of the day:

No Child Left Behind

Duncan has said he supports the law's mission of accountability, though more flexibility may be required. Some have criticized Duncan for what they call a heavy-handed approach to accountability in Chicago. Teacher's unions balked when Duncan closed schools in Chicago, replaced entire faculties, or forced staff to reapply for their positions.

But, Obama says, while some of these reforms are unpopular, the truth is that the status quo is not working for America's kids. “We cannot continue on like this,” Obama said. “It is morally unacceptable for our children – and economically untenable for America. We need a new vision for a 21st century education system – one where we aren’t just supporting existing schools, but spurring innovation; where we’re not just investing more money, but demanding more reform; where parents take responsibility for their children’s success; where we’re recruiting, retaining, and rewarding an army of new teachers; where we hold our schools, teachers and government accountable for results; and where we expect all our children not only to graduate high school, but to graduate college and get a good paying job.”

Bruce Fuller, Ph.D., Professor of Education and Public Policy at the University of Berkeley says Duncan's selection shows that Obama will place school improvement high on the domestic policy agenda. “Mr. Duncan will have the new president's ear. He mirrors the president-elect's style of governing: get all sides around table, listen carefully, and experiment with meaningful reforms,” Fuller says. “While tough-headed he's rarely antagonistic, nor a kick-butt, take no names kind of reformer .”

School Choice

Duncan has been a consistent proponent of school choice, especially the funding of charter schools. He has a record of championing charter schools in Chicago, “even when it was controversial,” Obama says. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith says Duncan has strongly supported public charter schools in Chicago, and “will continue to be a strong advocate for chartering and carry forward with President-elect Obama’s commitment to double the federal support for charter schools as a key component of his reform efforts.”

College Funding

Though he will be responsible for higher education policies that help prepare students for college both academically and financially, Duncan has limited experience in the higher education sector.

Early Childhood Education

In the last eight years, Chicago has increased the number of low-income children who have access to pre-kindergarten programs. Advocates of early childhood education say they are confident that Duncan will swiftly execute Obama's plans to provide universal preschool to all.

Improvements to Science, Math and Technology Education

Duncan's track record in Chicago has shown a commitment to improving student access to 21st century technology. In 2004, Duncan and city officials launched a new program under which a public school called Virtual Opportunities Inside a School Environment (VOISE) was opened. VOISE is dedicated to technology education—students are given laptops in the classroom and those without home computers are provided one.

Teacher Quality and Retention

When it comes to getting high-quality teachers in the classroom, Duncan has shown he wants to think out of the box. He shut the Dodge Renaissance Academy on Chicago's West Side, a once failing school, and reopened it as an experimental teacher-residency program for those seeking advanced degrees in education. The experiment seems to have worked; since the school reopened in 2003, the number
Duncan has initiated pay for performance incentives for both teachers and students in Chicago, and has sought backing from groups traditionally opposed to merit pay, such as teacher's unions.

Obama said that Duncan has the skills and experience to put high-quality teachers in the classroom. “He’s worked tirelessly to improve teacher quality, increasing the number of master teachers who’ve completed a rigorous national certification process from 11 to just shy of 1,200, and rewarding school leaders and teachers for gains in student achievement,” Obama said.

How Duncan's policy ideas might affect classrooms in the next four years is up for grabs. “He's got to hit the ground running,” Fuller says. “We'll find out whether this former basketball professional has remained in good shape.”

But, one thing is sure: the appointment has served to renew Obama's commitment to improving education in America. "In the next few years, the decisions we make about how to educate our children will shape our future for generations to come,” Obama said in a statement about Duncan's appointment. “At a time when companies can plant jobs wherever there’s an Internet connection, and two-thirds of all new jobs require a higher education or advanced training, if we want to out-compete the world tomorrow, we must out-educate the world today.”

Duncan's appointment will now go to the Senate for confirmation.