As in many other areas, the biggest education debates are happening within the Democratic Party. On the one hand, there are the reformers like Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee, who support merit pay for good teachers, charter schools and tough accountability standards. On the other hand, there are the teachers’ unions and the members of the Ed School establishment, who emphasize greater funding, smaller class sizes and superficial reforms.
During the presidential race, Barack Obama straddled the two camps. One campaign adviser, John Schnur, represented the reform view in the internal discussions. Another, Linda Darling-Hammond, was more likely to represent the establishment view. Their disagreements were collegial (this is Obamaland after all), but substantive.
In public, Obama shifted nimbly from camp to camp while education experts studied his intonations with the intensity of Kremlinologists. Sometimes, he flirted with the union positions. At other times, he practiced dog-whistle politics, sending out reassuring signals that only the reformers could hear.
Each camp was secretly convinced that at the end of the day, Obama would come down on their side. The reformers were cheered when Obama praised a Denver performance pay initiative. The unions could take succor from the fact that though Obama would occasionally talk about merit pay, none of his actual proposals contradicted their positions.
Obama never had to pick a side. That is, until now. There is only one education secretary, and if you hang around these circles, the air is thick with speculation, anticipation, anxiety, hope and misinformation. Every day, new rumors are circulated and new front-runners declared. It’s kind of like being in a Trollope novel as Lord So-and-So figures out to whom he’s going to propose.
You can measure the anxiety in the reformist camp by the level of nervous phone chatter each morning. Weeks ago, Obama announced that Darling-Hammond would lead his transition team and reformist cellphones around the country lit up. Darling-Hammond, a professor at Stanford, is a sharp critic of Teach for America and promotes weaker reforms.
Anxieties cooled, but then one morning a few weeks ago, I got a flurry of phone calls from reform leaders nervous that Obama was about to side against them. I interviewed people in the president-elect’s inner circle and was reassured that the reformers had nothing to worry about. Obama had not gone native.
Obama’s aides point to his long record on merit pay, his sympathy for charter schools and his tendency to highlight his commitment to serious education reform.
But the union lobbying efforts are relentless and in the past week prospects for a reforming education secretary are thought to have dimmed. The candidates before Obama apparently include: Joel Klein, the highly successful New York chancellor who has, nonetheless, been blackballed by the unions; Arne Duncan, the reforming Chicago head who is less controversial; Darling-Hammond herself; and some former governor to be named later, with Darling-Hammond as the deputy secretary.
In some sense, the final option would be the biggest setback for reform. Education is one of those areas where implementation and the details are more important than grand pronouncements. If the deputies and assistants in the secretary’s office are not true reformers, nothing will get done.
The stakes are huge. For the first time in decades, there is real momentum for reform. It’s not only Rhee and Klein — the celebrities — but also superintendents in cities across America who are getting better teachers into the classrooms and producing measurable results. There is an unprecedented political coalition building, among liberals as well as conservatives, for radical reform.
No Child Left Behind is about to be reauthorized. Everyone has reservations about that law, but it is the glaring spotlight that reveals and pierces the complacency at mediocre schools. If accountability standards are watered down, as the establishment wants, then real reform will fade.
This will be a tough call for Obama, because it will mean offending people, but he can either galvanize the cause of reform or demoralize it. It’ll be one of the biggest choices of his presidency.
Many of the reformist hopes now hang on Obama’s friend, Arne Duncan. In Chicago, he’s a successful reformer who has produced impressive results in a huge and historically troubled system. He has the political skills necessary to build a coalition on behalf of No Child Left Behind reauthorization. Because he is close to both Obamas, he will ensure that education doesn’t fall, as it usually does, into the ranks of the second-tier issues.
If Obama picks a reformer like Duncan, Klein or one of the others, he will be picking a fight with the status quo. But there’s never been a better time to have that fight than right now.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Showing posts with label Joel Klein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joel Klein. Show all posts
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
Who Will Obama Pick as Secretary of Education? ~ By Kathleen Kingsbury
[reprinted from http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1857195,00.html]
As Barack Obama begins to assess his potential picks for his cabinet, Secretary of Education is not one of the positions you would necessarily expect him to focus on first. But American parents especially may wish to study up on the possible candidates. After all, if Obama's campaign proposals are to be fulfilled, Margaret Spellings' successor could oversee a dramatic $18 billion overhaul of the nation's public education system over the next few years.
Whoever gets the spot, Obama's new Ed chief should expect to face a huge test right off in the contentious reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind act, considered to be one of the first priorities in Congress come January. Down the road, he or she can also plan to direct the founding of hundreds of new charter schools and the spread of universal pre-K nationwide, as well as a continued focus on increased accountability and a better trained teacher corps.
So whom will President-Elect Obama tap for this enormous task? That announcement isn't expected until at least early next week. But here's a look at some of the presumed contenders.
JOEL KLEIN
Current position: New York City schools chancellor
Why he could be tapped: In New York, the former Clinton appointee has distinguished himself as a keen reformer under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. An attorney by training, Klein has also shown himself adept at working with unlikely partners — union leaders as well as the Rev. Al Sharpton — and is a major proponent of charter schools, a keystone in Obama's education agenda.
Why the job will go to someone else: With Bloomberg recently getting the OK to seek a third term as mayor, Klein may prefer to stay put and finish the job of reforming New York's 1,500 schools.
LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND
Current position: Top Obama education adviser
Why she could be tapped: Her day job is professor of education at Stanford, but for the past year, she has been a key voice defining Obama's positions on issues such as school restructuring, teacher quality and educational equity.
Why the job will go to someone else: Darling-Hammond is not popular among education reformers, particularly those to the center-right. That's because her views on issues such as merit pay vs. teacher tenure are more conventional than even Obama's. So if the President-elect really wants to shake things up on the education front, Darling-Hammond won't likely be his choice.
ARNE DUNCAN
Current position: CEO of Chicago Public Schools
Why he could be tapped: Like Klein in New York, Duncan has made a name for himself as a reformer in a big city, accomplishments candidate Obama highlighted several times on the campaign trail. He's also a close friend and basketball buddy of the President-elect. And unlike Darling-Hammond, Duncan could represent a more neutral selection.
Why the job will go to someone else: A Duncan nod could risk upsetting Chicago mayor Richard Daley, a vocal advocate of the Chicago schools' chief.
JAMES HUNT, JR.
Current position: Former governor of North Carolina
Why he could be tapped: As governor, Hunt focused attention on one of Obama's key schools proposals: expanding early childhood education, especially to low-income and minority children. He also worked hard to improve teacher quality, testing innovations in this area of perpetual struggle for American schools. On the federal level, he recently served on Spellings' Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
Why the job will go to someone else: Hunt has not been especially outspoken on how to expand charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools, which appears to be a priority for the Obama team.
JANET NAPOLITANO
Current position: Arizona's governor
Why she could be tapped: Once considered a contender for Obama's VP slot, Napolitano has signed legislation boosting elementary education in her state, including an initiative to guarantee full-day kindergarten throughout Arizona. She also co-chaired a panel called Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future, which in 2005 recommended a $325 billion increase in federal education spending over 10 years.
Why the job will go to someone else: Term limits prohibit Napolitano from running for governor again in 2010, making her a potential — and popular — candidate to vie for Arizona Sen. John McCain's seat in that year's election. She has also been mentioned as a possible pick for Attorney General in the Obama administration.
COLIN POWELL
Current position: Former Secretary of State in the first Bush Administration
Why he could be tapped: Since leaving the State Dept. in 2004, Gen. Powell and his wife Alma founded America's Promise Alliance, a group dedicated to improving the well-being of the country's young people. The non-profit has been especially strong on finding a means to combat the country's dropout crisis. Plus, Powell made a high-profile endorsement of Obama in the final weeks of the campaign.
Why the job will go to someone else: On the day after Obama's Nov. 4 victory, Powell told reporters that he has not been asked nor does he plan to return to government service, preferring to instead leave the new Cabinet open to a younger generation.
As Barack Obama begins to assess his potential picks for his cabinet, Secretary of Education is not one of the positions you would necessarily expect him to focus on first. But American parents especially may wish to study up on the possible candidates. After all, if Obama's campaign proposals are to be fulfilled, Margaret Spellings' successor could oversee a dramatic $18 billion overhaul of the nation's public education system over the next few years.
Whoever gets the spot, Obama's new Ed chief should expect to face a huge test right off in the contentious reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind act, considered to be one of the first priorities in Congress come January. Down the road, he or she can also plan to direct the founding of hundreds of new charter schools and the spread of universal pre-K nationwide, as well as a continued focus on increased accountability and a better trained teacher corps.
So whom will President-Elect Obama tap for this enormous task? That announcement isn't expected until at least early next week. But here's a look at some of the presumed contenders.
JOEL KLEIN
Current position: New York City schools chancellor
Why he could be tapped: In New York, the former Clinton appointee has distinguished himself as a keen reformer under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. An attorney by training, Klein has also shown himself adept at working with unlikely partners — union leaders as well as the Rev. Al Sharpton — and is a major proponent of charter schools, a keystone in Obama's education agenda.
Why the job will go to someone else: With Bloomberg recently getting the OK to seek a third term as mayor, Klein may prefer to stay put and finish the job of reforming New York's 1,500 schools.
LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND
Current position: Top Obama education adviser
Why she could be tapped: Her day job is professor of education at Stanford, but for the past year, she has been a key voice defining Obama's positions on issues such as school restructuring, teacher quality and educational equity.
Why the job will go to someone else: Darling-Hammond is not popular among education reformers, particularly those to the center-right. That's because her views on issues such as merit pay vs. teacher tenure are more conventional than even Obama's. So if the President-elect really wants to shake things up on the education front, Darling-Hammond won't likely be his choice.
ARNE DUNCAN
Current position: CEO of Chicago Public Schools
Why he could be tapped: Like Klein in New York, Duncan has made a name for himself as a reformer in a big city, accomplishments candidate Obama highlighted several times on the campaign trail. He's also a close friend and basketball buddy of the President-elect. And unlike Darling-Hammond, Duncan could represent a more neutral selection.
Why the job will go to someone else: A Duncan nod could risk upsetting Chicago mayor Richard Daley, a vocal advocate of the Chicago schools' chief.
JAMES HUNT, JR.
Current position: Former governor of North Carolina
Why he could be tapped: As governor, Hunt focused attention on one of Obama's key schools proposals: expanding early childhood education, especially to low-income and minority children. He also worked hard to improve teacher quality, testing innovations in this area of perpetual struggle for American schools. On the federal level, he recently served on Spellings' Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
Why the job will go to someone else: Hunt has not been especially outspoken on how to expand charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools, which appears to be a priority for the Obama team.
JANET NAPOLITANO
Current position: Arizona's governor
Why she could be tapped: Once considered a contender for Obama's VP slot, Napolitano has signed legislation boosting elementary education in her state, including an initiative to guarantee full-day kindergarten throughout Arizona. She also co-chaired a panel called Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future, which in 2005 recommended a $325 billion increase in federal education spending over 10 years.
Why the job will go to someone else: Term limits prohibit Napolitano from running for governor again in 2010, making her a potential — and popular — candidate to vie for Arizona Sen. John McCain's seat in that year's election. She has also been mentioned as a possible pick for Attorney General in the Obama administration.
COLIN POWELL
Current position: Former Secretary of State in the first Bush Administration
Why he could be tapped: Since leaving the State Dept. in 2004, Gen. Powell and his wife Alma founded America's Promise Alliance, a group dedicated to improving the well-being of the country's young people. The non-profit has been especially strong on finding a means to combat the country's dropout crisis. Plus, Powell made a high-profile endorsement of Obama in the final weeks of the campaign.
Why the job will go to someone else: On the day after Obama's Nov. 4 victory, Powell told reporters that he has not been asked nor does he plan to return to government service, preferring to instead leave the new Cabinet open to a younger generation.
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