Secretary Duncan calls for honesty in public education research

Secretary Duncan calls for honesty in public education research.

Secretary Duncan should have also demand state and local education leaders and elected officials to be honest in their public engagement. Merely because the public may be supporting the concept of public education reform does mean it supports certain specific proposals and how they are implemented. Secretary Duncan should also be wary of state education leaders and elected officials, particularly in the District of Columbia who are eager to do political mischief in the name of public education reform.

District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee have been masterfully playing the media, cable talk show hosts, the Obama Administration, and members of Congress, such as Senator Joseph Lieberman as honest brokers for local public education reform. With the unwavering support of newspaper editorials from The Washington Post, Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee have been able to portray themselves as the only two people in the District who truly care about providing high quality public education for young people of the District. However, no two people or institution have done more to sully the legacy of District of Columbia public education and to harm District public education reform than Mayor Fenty, Chancellor Rhee, and the editorial board of The Washington Post.