by John McCormick
President-elect Barack Obama will name Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan as his Secretary of Education at a West Side news conference Tuesday morning, a transition official said.
The two men are friends and often play basketball together.
Obama is expected to appear with Duncan at the Dodge Renaissance Academy on Tuesday morning.
The selection of a Chicagoan for his Cabinet suggests that the president-elect has no intention of turning away from the city during a time when alleged corruption involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has made national news, further cementing the state's reputation for political sleaze.
Duncan won praise last week during a Chicago visit by U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who said she believed the Chicago Public Schools chief had the necessary skills to take her place.
"I don't want to hurt his chances but I think he's a terrific school leader...and I'm saying this because we have a lot of experience together,'' she said then. "I consider him a fellow reformer and someone who cares deeply about students. I think he'd be a great choice.''
A fellow Harvard alum, Duncan was among a group of Chicago friends that Obama played basketball with on the West Side on Election Day. The two have played together for more than a decade.
Comments
Uh oh... he's from Chicago??
He must be sleazy. This is a scandal!!! Get Fitzgerald in here.
Posted by: Flo | December 15, 2008 8:50 PM
He's not from Chicago.
He's from Hyde Park.
Big difference.
Posted by: ornery | December 15, 2008 10:17 PM
If Duncan does for the nation's education what he did for Chicago's, we're all in trouble.
From the Chicago Tribune, two months ago:
"Chicago high school test scores decline again
...
The percentage of Chicago public high school students who met or exceeded state standards on a test tied to the ACT college-entrance exam dropped for the third consecutive year, according to scores released Friday." (Oct. 5, 2008)
Shouldn't Obama look for Education Secretaries from areas where test scores are improving, not declining?
Posted by: Change You Can Believe In | December 15, 2008 11:05 PM
according to WaPo--over his 7 years:
With Duncan at the helm, Chicago's graduation rate has edged up and test scores have improved. More students are taking advanced classes.
Duncan's résumé appeals to those identify themselves as reformers and tend to support tough accountability, charter schools, performance-pay plans and other steps that shake up the status quo. But his calls for increased funding and willingness to partner with teachers also wins the approval of unions and school officials who think the federal government imposes too many sanctions without offering enough support.
Posted by: mort | December 16, 2008 7:52 AM
Arne Duncan’s buddy, the President-elect has hooked him hook up with a good, but very challenging job.
I attended the Chicago Public Schools starting at kindergarten and dropped out of the Chicago Public Schools in 1980. Now my children attended the Chicago Public Schools. Well, not really, they actually attend a charter school. In Chicago there is not enough “good schools”. Most of the public schools in Chicago are filled with “low income “students. These schools, like many urban schools in the USA, they have class problem.
A few years ago I run in to Arne Duncan just off Chicago’s Magnificent mile. I told him my children receive A’s and B’s because my wife, a college graduate can help them with their homework. I also mentioned to Mr. Duncan “we are in the hood but are not of the hood”, we expect our children to receive A’s and B’s.
A year or so later I called Mr. Duncan via a radio show and suggested the Chicago Public School’s middle class education model doesn’t work for thousands of CPS students. A middle class education model presumes that students have educated parents that are helping their children prepare for college.
Arne Duncan seems like a very nice and very sincere man, so I hope he will find creative ways to break the cycle of preventable poverty. Many public schools in a city like Chicago should have a different curriculum for students who are not college bound. This new curriculum should also prepare students to become excellent parents.
Preparing students to become excellent parents one good way to improve public education in the USA.
Marc Sims
Chicago
Posted by: Marc Sims | December 16, 2008 9:24 AM
Arne Duncan!
I was hoping that he would pick William Ayers just so I could watch Hannity's head explode on Fox News every night.
Posted by: Quippy | December 16, 2008 12:21 PM
Isn't it great to have a future Education Secretary with ZERO teaching experience? It's bad enough the man is CEO of the Chicago Public Schools without EVER being a teacher, but this is a true outrage.
Posted by: Paul | December 16, 2008 2:37 PM
Duncan can't improve the scools much with the strong teachers union fighing most issues of improvement..
Posted by: Inky | December 16, 2008 9:21 PM
"Duncan can't improve the scools much with the strong teachers union fighing most issues of improvement.."
--Inky
Judging by the spelling and punctuation issues in that sentence, I'm going to guess that you were educated by non-union teachers.
Posted by: Quippy | December 16, 2008 11:34 PM