Arne Duncan Hops On A Bus To Address Rust Belt School Districts

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan kicked off his three-day Great Lakes bus tour here, in a city he calls a national model for school reform.

"It wasn't a coincidence that we wanted to start this bus tour in Pittsburgh," Duncan told a gymnasium full of students, teachers and parents at Martin Luther King Elementary School. "I know you've had some tough conversations behind closed doors. But I know what you're doing collectively is also a model for the country."

Pittsburgh was just the first stop on Duncan's back-to-school tour, which will roll through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. The education secretary is aiming to spread his gospel of teacher accountability, pushing education reform in the face of massive state budget cuts and his own recent decision to unilaterally waive components of the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

In Pittsburgh, Duncan stepped off what he called "the magic school bus" to be greeted by a marching band and cheerleaders that tossed tinsel pom poms to Katy Perry tunes.

"If your teachers will let you, I'll put you on the bus until Friday," Duncan jokingly told the band. "I'll write you a note."

Duncan said he wanted to highlight Pittsburgh's successes, including a 2009 grant the district received from the Gates Foundation. For the grant application, Pittsburgh's superintendent and the president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers worked together -- in what Duncan called "tough-minded collaboration" -- to create a framework for measuring and improving teacher effectiveness.

The Gates grant yielded a five-year contract that includes merit pay provisions and a new teacher evaluation system, RISE, that involves teacher consultations with principals. New leaders have since taken over Pittsburgh's schools, and Duncan lauded new Superintendent Linda Lane and Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President Nina Esposito-Visgitis for upholding the promises made by their predecessors.
Duncan said cities are "scared" to talk about evaluating and celebrating effective teachers. "That should be happening all over the country," Duncan said. "It's not."

"It strikes me as simple common sense that if you want to improve students' education, you have to consult with their teachers," Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat who represents Pittsburgh, said at the event.

Union chief Esposito-Visgitis agreed. "Of all the school-based factors, effective teachers make the biggest difference in student achievement," she said. She added that the new evaluation system was born "from our collaboration between union members and the district."

Lane, the superintendent, emphasized the district's post-high school follow-up with students. "Our vision is for 80 percent of our students to obtain a two- or four-year college degrees or workforce certification," Lane said, pausing as the school bell rang. She lauded the teachers' union for being the first group to contribute to the Pittsburgh Promise, the city's college scholarship initiative.

Pittsburgh parent Lisa Freeman challenged Duncan and district leaders to focus on parental involvement. "It's good that we have all of this, but parents, parents are the first teachers," she said. "We need to do a better job of getting parents involved in their children's education."

After the Pittsburgh event, Duncan and Education Department staffers drove through Pennsylvania for two hours to reach Early Connections, an Erie, Pa., early childhood center. They conducted a few classroom visits and a panel discussion about early learning.

"There's nothing better we can do than get our babies off to a great start," Duncan told a large panel comprised of local school leaders and the department's early childhood staffers. "You have colleges blaming high schools when kids aren't ready. High schools blaming middle schools. Middle schools blaming elementaries. We get our 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds ready for kindergarten, so many of these challenges go away."

The bus tour rolled on to Cleveland, where Duncan got his second marching-band greeting of the day. He addressed a panel about community participation in education in the auditorium of Eastern Technical High School.

"What keeps us young and what motivates us every single day is you guys," he told a group of students wearing matching button-down shirts and black vests.

Duncan stressed the importance of wraparound programs, which supplement school-based interventions. Such programs, he said, are especially necessary in a struggling districts like Cleveland's, which has a 30 percent high school graduation rate.

"We have to figure out, not just teachers and principals, but the churches, the nonprofits, the social service agencies ... who's going to be that mentor, who's going to be that role model," he said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misidentified the president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. She is Nina Esposito-Visgitis, not Linda Esposito-Visgitis.

Comments

[Frod43]

11:29 PM on 09/11/2011

obama doesnt care about public education...his kids all go to an exclusive private school...so like bush he is touting charter and private schools...Oh, he'll throw some money at public schools...during election time..just to fool the voters..but any real meaningful reform and support: no.

[foresure]

11:42 PM on 09/10/2011

Wow. Now there's a real innovation which will certainly improve schools. Have the Secretary of Education go around in a school bus, stop and various schools, and tell everyone how welll they are doing, and how optimistic he is.

That may even get Clevelands' 30% graduation rate up to a third. That would be quite a triumph.

Who would have thought how essential marching bands playing for the Secretary would be such a clever improvement?

[ghorialtaf]

03:02 PM on 09/09/2011

Exactly beneficial and important for every body.for a new campaign.

[FRUSTRATED60]

04:21 PM on 09/08/2011

I am trying to give Duncan the benefit of the doubt. He was very ineffectual in Chicago.
Hopefully he has learned something in the past three years. Our kids need better teachers, better leaders and better resources.

Don't rely on charter schools, my nephew went to one in Chicago and half the class had no books.
Teachers cannot teach without appropriate materials.

[suelee]

11:45 AM on 09/08/2011

There is no doubt that most important improvement to literacy rates would come if there were thousands of pre-school centers run by genuine educators who practice literacy education. Millions of 3 and 4 year olds come in from homes where reading is nonexistent and where they hear less than 500 vocabulary words; they need 'child-care' that includes literacy education because reading begins with listening and speaking.

The voice of the professional in the classroom, who knows what LEARNING LOOKS LIKE and what is really ESSENTIAL for LEARNING TO OCCUR is the very LAST voice in the national conversation conducted by 'experts' and pundits, and repeated by the commentariat.The schools have been emptied of the top tier of experts, the experienced professionals sent packing as 'dead-wood.' Imagine if hospitals did that and the novice was in the surgery.Trained and educated to facilitate learning, with a knowledge of pedagogy and psychology, the teacher's voice is nonexistent.

The media assault on the professional teacher has been relentless; the public believes that anyone with some 'training' can teach. This public perception is crucial for Duncan and his ilk, who are attempting to make teacher 'evaluation' the central topic, when the NEW STANDARDS WERE ALL ABOUT LEARNING...not teaching. The NEW STANDARDS research was THE 8 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING: crucial ingredients FOR A SCHOOL for learning to occur. Tests, are the only association people make with the Standards,

[foresure]

11:45 PM on 09/10/2011

Oh, eight principles of learning. That will do the trick. Until they are forgottten, and after much research, are replaced by something else.

In answer to getting rid of dead wood. If the surgeon killed 70% of his patients, he might well be out of a job.

[Miller Time]

08:12 AM on 09/08/2011

Same Education Secretary who claimed Perry's record in Texas was bad, yet had worse figures when he ran the Chicago department.

Your credibility is non-existant.

[Sam Damon]

06:46 AM on 09/08/2011

Why are we so unwilling to confront the truth about our declining education system? While we all want top notch teachers in the classroom, the teachers aren’t the problem. The problem is the vast numbers of poorly raised children being sent to school without any ability to act appropriately in a learning environment. Teachers can’t raise our children while teaching them the academic subjects they need to learn. Until we as a society begin doing a better job raising kids at home these problems in our schools will only increase. No amount of money will fix this.

[SoCalifTeacher]

08:23 AM on 09/08/2011

Amen.

[foresure]

11:47 PM on 09/10/2011

Sam:

Which is why we need full-time, 11 month, neighborhood boarding schools.

However, teachers actually vehemently resist even the slightest changes. Especially those that try to measure their effectiveness.

[frdafury]

03:29 AM on 09/08/2011

What exactly is Arne running for here? A bus? Marching bands? Kids in matching button down shirts and black vests? Sounds a bit ominous. This yahoo destroyed what was left of Chicago Public Schools, made a mess in Education and now is running around the country like Tinkerbell in Never, Never Land? This is definitely a dog and pony show and I can guarantee that the man will be just playing softball with the appropriate, pre-screened types gushing at his existence. IT would be nice to see him answer some real questions; talk with real teachers and do some real work. He is one ugly cheer leader.

[foresure]

11:49 PM on 09/10/2011

frdafury

Yes, but he already knows what the "real teachers" would say.

1. Over worked

2. Underpaid

3. Disrespected

4. Bad administrators

5. But most of all, most of all, DO NOT HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANYTHING!!!

[bldgtchr]

12:22 AM on 09/08/2011

Mr Duncan,
please take a bus tour to Egypt and never return.No offense but you are a ledgend in your own mind and suck big time!

[nancytheragingliberal]

07:55 AM on 09/08/2011

b, No sh**. I can't stand this man, Obama's darling, Mr. Charter School. He is one of many corporatists surrounding Mr. my noise is high in the air, pres. Who is there as an advocate for the 'little people'? Answer: zero, nada, zip, kaput, over. He crapped on my Elizabeth Warren and kicked her aside b/cause his repub. masters did not want her to get the job. Mr. bend over, did their bidding, as per usual. He is a one termer and I long for my well funded third party, The Party for the People. Please God.

[dandan1]

12:08 AM on 09/08/2011

Duncan is a part of the group who are bringing down America's public schools. They want to grab the hundreds of billions of dollars. These are very scary very dangerous people.

[corwin]

07:43 AM on 09/08/2011

Here's my idea. First, we encourage ed schools to give high grades for easy courses. Then,push minorities into the field.because,you know... Then,we esrtablish a Cabinet level dept to increase employment of 'educators'.To top it off, make sure every teacher ios paid the same.You know,physics teachers,civics teaschers;they're all worth the same.
If America would just try it!

[Mudshark3625]

11:00 PM on 09/07/2011

Considering just about every one of Duncan's "reforms" have been refuted by research (privatization, merit-pay, high-stakes testing, competition, etc.), not to mention common sense, I guess he felt it necessary to try and sell it with a show. I bet he doesn't go through the low-income communities he uprooted with his privatization policies and doesn't actually listen to teachers and community members. Arne is a disaster.

[foresure]

11:51 PM on 09/10/2011

Mudshark3625

Unless, and until we recognize that there is a "culture of poverty". That if no intervention is made to break up that culture of poverty, there is not hope for the great majority of the children in that culture.

But we can't, because to do so would be a) expensive, b) politically incorrect.

So both liberals and conservatives can continue to fret.

[Always Conservative]

10:59 PM on 09/07/2011

So now the Secretary of Education is campaigning for Obama??? REALLY???

[El Chingaso]

10:51 PM on 09/07/2011

Hey, Arne, just hang back in D.C. and let local school boards hammer out the issues. (Plenty of behind kissing to do there.) The last thing public education needs in this country...is more political posturing from the feds. The D.O.E. has practically destroyed this nation's school systems. All of the taxpayer cash you're wasting would be better spent elsewhere...

[blindjester]

09:49 PM on 09/07/2011

Why don't we have a system for forcing engineers to improve? We need engineering reform.

A college degree isn't good enough. Regular evaluations aren't good enough. Staff development isn't good enough. We need pressure. Threats. Competition between employees.

What a motivator! Way to go, Arne.

I swear, Arne and his policies make Obama look like a republican.

[TongoRad]

10:16 PM on 09/07/2011

F&F.
To understand the "real" Obama, look no further than his education policy choices.
No Republican meanies or Blue dogs were forcing him down this road, this is who he is: a neoliberal who believes that the free market can do a better job than democratically accountable institutions.

However, I doubt that a Republican could get away with privatizing our public education system.

[seeing red]

01:42 AM on 09/08/2011

Doubt no longer. A Republican IS getting away with privatizing our public education system in WI. Walker's his name. Beware!

[lostyankee]

09:43 PM on 09/07/2011

Money spent on PR, travel, lodging, and other BS instead of spent on teachers and classrooms.