Change for Education

During his 23-month campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama, promised a change for America.  I personally am very happy to have him as our president as he has instilled hope and brings the possibility of reform with him.  There were many mentions of the failings of America’s schools and how that was damaging the future of our children and, by extension, the future of this nation.  I will be keeping an eye on how Obama, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the rest of the administration go about producing this change.

The White House website now contains the information that the Obama campaign had once had on their website.  I look forward to seeing if the Obama-Biden intend to keep good on their promises of reforming the nation’s public schools.  Some of the highlights of their plan are:

• Zero-to-Five Plan emphasizing education to improve kindergarten-readiness
• Reform No Child Left Behind
• Improve higher education opportunities for low-income families
• Better recruitment, preparation, and rewarding of teachers
• Simplifying the federal student aid process

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is a fellow Illinoisan and was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 until assuming office on January 21, 2009.  During his tenure in Chicago he is known for bringing in charter schools to take over failing public schools and generally has a good reputation.

Further Reading

• Obama-Biden Education Agenda on the White House Official Site
• Transcript of Arne Duncan’s Confirmation Hearing on Washington Post
• Wikipedia article on Arne Duncan

Photos courtesy of Obama-Biden Transition Project

Technorati Tags: Duncan, NCLB, Obama, politics, school reform