It would not happen in Missouri, where Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro is in lockstep with Arne Duncan and the so-called reform movement in education, but an article in today's Washington Post provides evidence of the steps the federal government is taking to impose its will on local education.
The article indicates officials, including Duncan, in the U. S. Department of Education lobbied New York's new mayor Bill de Blasio in an effort to keep de Blasio from appointing Joshua P. Starr, an opponent of standardized testing excesses, as chancellor of schools. The appontment was given to veteran educator Carmen Farina:
Starr, who runs Maryland’s largest school district, just miles from the White House, became nationally known last year when he made a call for a three-year moratorium on high-stakes standardized testing, a central component of Duncan’s school reform policies. Starr said the country should “stop the insanity” of evaluating teachers according to student test scores, calling it a flawed method.
Duncan spoke negatively about Starr to de Blasio in a discussion about a number of candidates, people familiar with the discussions said. Duncan did not return phone calls seeking comment. Duncan spokesman Massie Ritsch, asked about Duncan’s conversations about the chancellorship and his objections to Starr, said he “declined to comment on private conversations between the mayor and secretary.”
It is becoming increasingly obvious that President Obama's Education Department is attempting to put its imprint on local schools. Up to this point, it had appeared that the attempt was limited to bribery through Race to the Top funding. Now it is apparent Arne Duncan and company will do whatever is necessary to get what they want.
No comments:
Post a Comment