“If we are to put an end to stubborn cycles of poverty and social failure, and put our country on track for long-term economic prosperity, we must address the needs of children who have long been ignored and marginalized...I couldn't agree more. Finally, an education leader is saying that poverty and lack of social structure is to blame for the educational and social failure of a large part of our population. So now we can get to work. Right? Wrong. I need to give you the rest of his quote:
in chronically low-achieving schools,”
“States and school districts have an opportunity to put unprecedented resources toward reforms that would increase graduation rates, reduce dropout rates and improve teacher quality for all students, and particularly for children who most need good teaching in order to catch up.”Oh well. He started his comments off on the right foot, then decided to ignore what he just said and blame everything on schools and teachers.
This is what Arne Duncan believes:
“The large investment in school improvement funds made possible by the Recovery Act presents a historic opportunity to attack education's most intractable challenge -- turning around or closing down chronically low-achieving schools,” Duncan said. “Our goal is to turn around the 5,000 lowest-performing schools over the next five years, as part of our overall strategy for dramatically reducing the drop-out rate, improving high school graduation rates and increasing the number of students who graduate prepared for success in college and the workplace.”Got that? Closing down schools will increase the graduation rate. It doesn't seem to matter that none of Duncan's reforms have worked, even in Duncan's Chicago when he was CEO (that still gets me: CEO instead of superintendent).
The money making opportunities are deep and wide for Gates, Broad and test publishers as well as TFA type programs, and charter schools. The privatization of Americas public schools is not just underway, it is nearing completion!
