Want Turnaround Money? Involve Parents, Duncan Proposes
After getting pushback from local education advocates who have been feeling left out of the school turnaround process, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced today that districts will be required to involve parents and the community as a condition of receiving school improvement grants.
In a speech to the NAACP in Kansas City, Mo., Duncan said he would change the administration's ESEA draftto acknowledge the key role that communities play in turning around persistently failing schools. Even members of Congress have been critical of the lack of community involvement in the Education Department's four required models that are attached to $4 billion in SIG funding.
According to prepared remarks, Duncan said:
In a speech to the NAACP in Kansas City, Mo., Duncan said he would change the administration's ESEA draftto acknowledge the key role that communities play in turning around persistently failing schools. Even members of Congress have been critical of the lack of community involvement in the Education Department's four required models that are attached to $4 billion in SIG funding.
According to prepared remarks, Duncan said:
"You also made it crystal clear to us in recent meetings at the department and at the White House that the community must be at the table when decisions are made around how to improve