This Washington
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Join Gregoire for Education Forum
We just got a press release from Gov. Chris Gregoire's office announcing that Obama's Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is going to join her on Monday by video teleconference to discuss "education governance" and "leadership in education." He will take questions.
Obama's Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan
Duncan, of course, is the architect of President Obama's Race to the Top education reform effort, which promotes things like charter schools, merit pay, alternate teacher certification programs, and tying teacher evaluations to student performance. This has made Duncan unpopular within his own party, which has sided with the teachers unions against those types of proposals.
We have to wonder if the outspoken head of the Washington State Democratic Party, Dwight Pelz, will show up to ask some questions.
As Erica reported yesterday, at a meeting of the Metropolitan Democratic Club, Pelz gave his candid opinion about Duncan to a group of supportive liberal Democrats:
While some of the Duncan agenda has passed in Olympia—such as alternate routes to teachers' certification and letting the state step in and oversee turnaround plans for failing shcools—legislators have avoided most of the key pieces, such as tying evaluations to student performance. (Washington State bombed on its Race to the Top application for federal funds after the feds took a look at our eduation reform bill.)
Obama's Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan
Duncan, of course, is the architect of President Obama's Race to the Top education reform effort, which promotes things like charter schools, merit pay, alternate teacher certification programs, and tying teacher evaluations to student performance. This has made Duncan unpopular within his own party, which has sided with the teachers unions against those types of proposals.
We have to wonder if the outspoken head of the Washington State Democratic Party, Dwight Pelz, will show up to ask some questions.
As Erica reported yesterday, at a meeting of the Metropolitan Democratic Club, Pelz gave his candid opinion about Duncan to a group of supportive liberal Democrats:
“[US Education Secretary] Arne Duncan should be fired immediately. Arne Duncan’s got blood on his hands in Wisconsin because he’s been trashing the teachers union."
While some of the Duncan agenda has passed in Olympia—such as alternate routes to teachers' certification and letting the state step in and oversee turnaround plans for failing shcools—legislators have avoided most of the key pieces, such as tying evaluations to student performance. (Washington State bombed on its Race to the Top application for federal funds after the feds took a look at our eduation reform bill.)
