Friday, October 14, 2011

Education Secretary gets earful from public school advocates

Education Secretary gets earful from public school advocates:

Education Secretary gets earful from public school advocates

Arne Duncan faces off with union members who knock No Child Left Behind and charter schools

(news photo)

ROB CULLIVAN / GRESHAM OUTLOOK

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke to hundreds of Oregon teachers union members at H.B. Lee Middle School the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 12.

It’s time to leave behind No Child Left Behind.

That was just one message Arne Duncan, U.S. secretary of education, got at a town hall meeting with members of the Oregon Education Association the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 12, at H.B. Lee Middle School, 1121 N.E. 172nd Ave.

Duncan also heard criticism of President Obama’s support for public charter schools, which one critic claimed takes away tax dollars needed for traditional neighborhood public schools. Another critic knocked the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for taking tax dollars away from education and other services.

For his part, Duncan, a former superintendent of Chicago schools,