Obama picks Chicagoan to lead Education Department
E-Mail Article
Printer-Friendly
3-Column Format
Translate
Share Article
Text Size
President-elect Barack Obama announced Tuesday that Arne Duncan, the Chicago schools superintendent known for taking tough steps to improve the city's schools while maintaining respectful relations with teachers and their unions, was his choice as secretary of education.
But as he came closer to filling out his cabinet, Obama again found himself fending off questions about contacts his staff had had with the office of Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois about filling the U.S. Senate seat Obama has vacated.
Obama had said Monday that an internal inquiry had found no signs that anyone connected to him or his campaign had had any inappropriate conversations with Blagojevich over the Senate seat. But Obama also said that he would withhold further details until next week at the request of the federal prosecutors investigating whether Blagojevich sought, essentially, to offer the Senate seat to the highest bidder.
On Tuesday, Obama again batted away questions about the matter, saying, "The U.S. attorney's office specifically asked us not to release this until next week."
With the Illinois House voting 113-to-0 to establish a committee to examine the allegations against Blagojevich - a process that could lead to impeachment - the matter remained a cloud over what has been, up to now, a smooth and efficient presidential transition.
Related Articles
Today in Americas
Duncan, 44, a Harvard graduate, has raised achievement in the third-largest U.S. school district and often faced the ticklish challenge of closing failing schools and replacing ineffective teachers, usually with improved results.
Obama did not minimize the challenge facing Duncan. Two-thirds of all new jobs, he said, now require advanced training or higher education.
"Unfortunately, when our high school dropout rate is one of the highest in the industrialized world, when a third of all fourth graders can't do basic math, when more and more Americans are getting priced out of attending college, we're falling far short of that goal," of educating Americans for a more competitive world.
Obama also met Tuesday with his economic team. On a day when the Federal Reserve was expected to drop its key lending rate close to zero in a further effort to revive the economy, Obama and his advisers were expected to focus on the sweeping economic stimulus package he is planning.
In his remarks Tuesday, Obama repeatedly drew a connection between better education and competition. "If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow," he said, "then we're going to have to out-educate the world today."
Duncan represents a compromise choice in the debate that has divided Democrats in recent months over the proper course for public-school policy after the Bush years.
In June, rival nationwide groups of educators circulated competing education manifestos, with one group espousing a get-tough policy based on pushing teachers and administrators harder to raise achievement, and one arguing that schools alone could not close the racial achievement gap and urging new investments in school-based health clinics and other social programs to help poor students learn.
Duncan was the only big-city superintendent to sign both manifestos. He argued that American schools needed to be held accountable for student progress, but also needed major new investments, new talent and new teacher-training efforts.
"Obama found the sweet spot with Arne Duncan," said Susan Traiman, director of educational policy at the Business Roundtable. "Both camps will be O.K. with the pick."
Duncan's acquaintance with Obama began on a basketball court nearly two decades ago - Duncan played professionally in Australia - but has flowered since he became the chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools in 2001.
"He's gotten the job done in Chicago," said Allan Odden, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin. "There's more to be done, but he's done a great job of reaching out and recruiting and improving the talent of both teachers and principals."
As secretary of education, one of Duncan's major challenges will be to rebuild the bipartisan consensus that helped President George W. Bush win passage of his No Child Left Behind law in 2001. Some conservative Republicans now see the law as intruding in states' educational prerogatives, while some Democrats say it exaggerates an emphasis on standardized testing.
In Illinois, the special House committee investigating whether to impeach Blagojevich began its work Tuesday. The governor has rejected calls for his resignation and, his office said, would continue to sign legislation.
Barbara Flynn Currie, the House Democratic leader who is leading the panel, said its efforts to investigate the allegations of criminal activities might depend on the level of cooperation from federal investigators.
Latest News
