Conference call with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

On Wednesday evening, I took part in a conference call with the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Sec. Duncan wanted to discuss the administration's plan for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind.

Many educators are very vocal about their opposition to NCLB, so it good to see that the Obama administration recognizes this and wants input on how to change it. Sec. Duncan focused on some of the main points of what he and the administration want to see in the reauthorization of ESEA, including:

-focus on teacher-leader programs, including collaboration amongst teachers and more effective professional development
-focus on "educating diverse learners," like special education students and ELL students
-revamping accountability, including incentives to raise state standards, and incentives to teachers who show growth with their students

The part about "growth" was great to hear, and Sec. Duncan talked about this many times. Instead of having a specific number or score, the administration is "focusing on growth and gain, with a focus on improvement." Stressing "growth models" as a better way of accountability of teachers and schools is much better than the current way of assessing education. Part of this is to have districts develop better assessments, what Sec. Duncan called "the next generation of tests," which will hopefully include more critical-thinking questions rather than bubble sheets. Sec. Duncan feels that these new tests will be able to tell us the growth of schools and students.

I was able to ask Sec. Duncan about states likes Vermont's ability to compete with others over competitive state and school grants. Sec. Duncan said they are looking for a focus less on a "fancy approach" and more on vision. He also said he has plans for a focus on a "rural competitive advantage" so rural schools have an opportunity for these funds. It was good to hear that he recognizes the need for small and rural schools to have access to these grants.

There was also a great question about including Social Studies in the Common Core standards, which will initially just include Math and English. Sec. Duncan said that they are starting with these two, but definitely want to include Social Studies in the future. As a Social Studies teacher, I would like this to be in the initial standards, but it is great to hear that Sec. Duncan sees its importance and plans to include it in the future.

It was great to get to hear and speak with Sec. Duncan for about an hour about where the administration's plans for education are. Just the fact that the Secretary was willing to take questions about their policies is definitely a step in the right direction. He recognizes, and said, that any type of change in education is not going to come from a Washington policy, but from educators.

Now lets see if the reality of the policy meets the vision.