Pres.-Elect Obama has named Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan as his designate for the U.S. Education Secretary. And it's an interesting pick.AP:
Duncan would take over a sprawling department that has focused during the Bush administration in winning passage and then implementing the president's signature No Child Left Behind education program.
That effort has proven controversial, with supporters saying it is making progress in improving student skills, while local officials complain it focuses too much attention on standardized tests.
Obama said it was time for Washington to move beyond "tired debates" such as whether to approve the use of vouchers for students to attend private schools.
"We cannot continue on like this. It is morally unacceptable for our children and economically untenable for America," said the president-elect.
Duncan has run the country's third-biggest school district since 2001, pushing to boost teacher quality and to improve struggling schools and closing those that fail.
The news conference took place at the Dodge Renaissance Academy on Chicago's West Side, a facility that Duncan shut down and then reopened. Obama and Duncan visited the school together in 2005.
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It's interesting because he's a moderate. Some outlets are calling him a reformer. Others are critical of Duncan because of some of the failed measures he tried to bring during his tenure in Chicago. Either way, it will be a refreshing change from the current Ed. Secy.
More coverage from District 299, Matthew Tabor and SmallTalk.
E.C. :)
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