What did Arne Duncan do for California schools?
Arne Duncan, who on Friday was reported to be stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Education in December, had a sometimes stormy relationship with California, despite its status as a stronghold of support for Democrats and the Obama administration.
An early conflict was the state’s effort to secure grants through Duncan’s signature Race to the Top effort. States competed for the funds based on their willingness to pursue reforms favored by the U.S. Department of Education. The sticking point for California was that states had to agree to a teacher evaluation system based, in part, on measures such as student standardized test scores. In addition, state teachers unions had to sign on to a state’s application.
Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, supported the requirements, but could not secure agreement from teachers unions. The state’s application was downgraded as a result and other states got the money.
Other elements of Duncan’s push for major policy change included increasing the number of charter schools. Charters are independently managed and exempt from some rules that govern traditional public campuses. Duncan also promoted aggressive school “turnarounds,” which meant, in many places, replacing the entire staff at a school or closing a traditional school, with its union-represented workforce, and replacing it with a charter school.
Duncan’s department had a huge influence in shaping education policy because it used department grants to fill a vacuum left by Congress, whose members could not agree on education policies.
Both support and criticism for Duncan’s actions crossed party lines. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney opined that he’d be willing to keep Duncan on the job in a Republican White House. Meanwhile, Duncan's staunchest critics included teachers unions, a critical Democratic constituency.
California Gov. Jerry Brown came into office as an ally of teachers unions and a skeptic of many reforms he regarded as faddish and unproven. His administration resisted federal conditions for certain grants and refused to bend when Duncan wanted the state to continue using old state standardized tests until new ones were ready. In that resistance, Brown was joined by majorities in the state Legislature and by Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who also had political support from teachers unions.What did Arne Duncan do for California schools? - LA Times:
