Obama nominates Chicago schools chief for Education post
Arne Duncan has a reputation for boosting test scores and closing weak schools. His policies — and basketball skills — are seen as a match for Obama’s.
By Michael Muskal (LA Times)
President-elect Barack Obama today formally announced Chicago schools superintendent Arne Duncan as his choice for Education secretary.
Duncan has built a reputation over seven years for improving test scores in the nation’s third-largest school district. He has also closed failing schools and replaced ineffective teachers.
“If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow then we’re going to have to out-educate the world today,” Obama told reporters in a televised news conference this morning at the Dodge Renaissance Academy, which was once closed as a failing school.
Duncan reopened the school as an academy where candidates for advanced degrees in education could gain practical experience in classrooms. Obama and Duncan, who often play basketball together, visited the school three years ago and hailed it as a successful model for teacher residency programs.
