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Posts Tagged ‘Secretary Duncan’

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Secretary Duncan Set to Advance Administration Priorities Through ESEA

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

As reported by Education Week yesterday, Arne Duncan’s first year as Secretary of Education “could place him among the most influential leaders in his department’s 30-year history.” Given oversight of unprecedented amounts of education aid in the economic stimulus package, Secretary Duncan has been able to advance administration priorities such as charter schools, teacher performance pay, common academic standards, and turnarounds of low-performing schools through reform efforts such as the Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation grant programs.

While Department officials have indicated that they plan to implement many of these same reforms through a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) this year, there is no guarantee that the law will be passed anytime soon. ESEA was due for reauthorization in 2007, but Congress and the Bush Administration failed to work out differences surrounding accountability and teacher effectiveness based on student achievement.  This time around, Secretary Duncan faces critics such as teachers unions and those who believe he is placing too much emphasis on testing.

But Secretary Duncan plans to meet with the chairmen and ranking minority members of the education committees and the subcommittees in both houses of Congress about ESEA soon after the State of the Union Address. “The heart of our strategy is to secure bipartisan support and enthusiasm for this on the very front end,” said communications chief Peter Cunningham. He also plans to meet with teachers unions and the corporate and philanthropic communities.

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Obama Administration to Expand Race to the Top Funding

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

On the same day as the first deadline for states to apply for Race to the Top grants, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, visited Graham Road Elementary in Fairfax County, Virginia to announce their proposal for a $1.35 billion expansion of the grant program in this year’s budget. The President stated that this expansion will allow local school districts to apply for funds.

Forty states and the District of Columbia met the deadline for the first round of funding yesterday. States that did not apply, and states that do not receive grants in the first round, will be able to compete in the second round of competition, which is set for June.

By admin in Public Policy
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Meet the Press Discussion on Education Reform

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

The discussion about education reform took center stage on Meet the Press on Sunday November 15.  There was a freewheeling, 25 minute  discussion between moderator David Gregory and guests Arne Duncan, Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton.  Duncan, Gingrich, and Sharpton have been touring schools across the country to find out what works, what needs to change and what students expect in the classroom.  This bi-partisan group has embarked on this journey together to show that politics should not get in the way of the important need to reform education. 

Although there was no specific mention of CTE during the discussion this conversation touched on a number of topics that are important to all sectors of education.  This includes the role of charter schools, the importance of accountability, the goals of the Race to the Top fund, the challenge and impact of drop outs, teacher recruitment, and the importance of setting expectations for students, parents, teachers, and all who are involved in the education system.  The panelists also talked specifically about what they learned from visits they made to schools in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Tucson. 

If you would like to watch this interview you can see it on the Meet the Press website at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/#33948109

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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ED Stakeholders Forum: ESEA Reauthorization

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

The U.S. Department of Education hosted its monthly Education Stakeholders Forum this morning.  Today’s meeting was the Department’s kick off for getting ESEA reauthorization started.  The next several forums will focus on specific issued related to reauthorization.

Secretary Arne Duncan spoke about the urgency surrounding reauthorization and why we can’t wait: the United States lags behind other countries in terms of math and science achievement and college completion;   twenty-seven percent of students drop out of school each year; 17-year olds are performing at the same levels in math and reading on the NAEP test as they were in the 1970’s.  The Secretary succinctly put it this way: “We want to be first in the world again and to get there we cannot waste a minute. Every year counts. Every class counts. Every child counts.”

As for next steps, the Department plans on getting input from stakeholders at these forums and from parents, students and teachers during the Secretary’s Listening and Learning Tour.  Based on this feedback, and in conjunction with the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over ESEA (Senate HELP and House Ed and Labor), the Department will draft a proposal for reauthorization.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, Carmel Martin, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development said that the four pillars of reform in Race to the Top will be carried forward in ESEA, but that they will not be the bulk of ESEA – it covers much more than Race to the Top.

By admin in Legislation
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Duncan Stresses the Importance of CTE

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Earlier this month, the Vice President’s Middle Class Task Force held a town hall meeting on college affordability and accessibility at Syracuse University.  During the Q&A portion of the meeting, a business representative from a local carpenters union brought up “vocational” training and apprenticeships.  His point was that in the broad national discussion of college, we must not forget about technical training as an option for postsecondary education.

Secretary Duncan responded by giving his interpretation of postsecondary: something beyond high school.  This includes 4 year universities, 2 year community colleges, a trade, or “vocational-technical” training.  While the Secretary did not use the term CTE, and opted instead for “vocational,” it seemed from the context that he was talking about what is being done in CTE programs every day: “As a country, we need to prepare a lot more students to be successful in careers, a lot more students to be successful in college.  When talking about college ready, career ready, we’re really trying to do both.”  He said that in the 1960s this country did a good job of preparing students in “vocational-technical” training, but that we lost our way over the last few decades in terms of getting students to think about careers.

In conjunction with that town hall meeting, the Taskforce released a staff report addressing the barriers to higher education.  The report found that some of the biggest obstacles to postsecondary access and completion are socioeconomic status, lack of information (related to opportunities and financial aid), and student loan debt.  It should be noted that the Taskforce defines “college degree” as including certificates and two-year degrees.  You can read a copy of the report here.

By admin in Public Policy
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Secretary Duncan Speaks About Innovation Grants

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

On August 20 Secretary Arne Duncan addressed a symposium sponsored by America’s Choice and ACT.  He laid out some of the details of the upcoming Investing in Innovation grant competition; now know in shorthand as i3.  The Secretary noted that a Notice of Proposed Priorities for the i3 fund will be published in the Federal Register “this fall”. There will be a comment period, followed by an application, and awards will be made in early 2010.  The Secretary stated that grants will fall into three categories:

Eligible grantees for these funds will be local education agencies (including charter schools) and non-profit organizations working in collaboration with one or more LEAs or a consortium of schools.

During his comments the Secretary, as he has done throughout his tenure, spoke about the role of charter schools, and echoed themes related to the importance of addressing the high school drop-out problem, President Obama’s goal of getting more Americans to get at least some postsecondary education, and the importance of American students being able to compete globally. 

The Secretary also stated clearly that he would like to change the relationship between the Department of Education and school districts.  He stated:

“I want the department to become an engine of innovation, not a compliance machine. I want the department to provide powerful incentives to states, districts, and non-profits to innovate–but at the same time leave most of the creative thinking and entrepreneurship for achieving our common goals in local hands. The best ideas will always come from local educators, not from here in Washington.”

A web stream of his 25 minutes presentation as well as the full text of his speech can be found on the U.S. Department of Education’s website at

http://www.edgovblogs.org/duncan/2009/08/i3-fund-goal-help-school-districts-answer-how-can-we-do-that-here/

By admin in Public Policy
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Secretary Duncan In The News

Friday, June 26th, 2009

This week Education Secretary Arne Duncan mentioned the role of career and technical education in two separate instances. His comments are worthy of your consideration.
In a blog post earlier this week we shared with you the announcement OVAE and the NRCCET made regarding technical assistance for five states to develop green programs of study. Connected to this announcement the Secretary was quoted as saying: “Green programs of study support the Administration’s goal of expanding a green workforce by preparing students for high-skill, high-wage jobs in a clean energy economy.” This comment, and the focus on green programs of study, should be a reminder to all of us that this administration, not just within the Education Department but across all Departments, are continually focusing on the importance of making things greener. It is of course also encouraging that the Secretary recognizes by his words the impact CTE programs can have on the green economy.

Yesterday the Secretary appeared on the Diane Rehm show on National Public Radio. He was interviewed for an entire one hour segment. Early on in the interview Ms. Rehm specifically asked the Secretary about the importance of “vocational” education and training. Within the context of the Secretary addressing college access and increasing college going Ms Rehm asked if everyone really needs four years of college. She pointed out that years ago vocational opportunities were readily available for people but the systems over the years seem to be moving away from that. The Secretary’s response, I think, was a positive one. In his response he said that he “is a big fan” of technical and vocational training programs. He said he wants to work on and give students lots of options and that we have to “find our way again” on these programs and “we” have a lot of interest in them. Later on the Secretary lauded the role of community colleges noting that they can have a huge role in getting our economy back on its feet and referred to the institutions as “an undervalued, under-recognized gem”.

During his interview the following topics were also discussed: early childhood, charter schools, college access, the drop out crisis, class size, charter schools, and accountability. If you would like to listen to the entire interview you can go to the NPR website at http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/06/25.php#26159. The conversation regarding CTE begins about three and a half minutes into the interview and lasts for about two minutes.

By admin in Public Policy
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