Arne Duncan for America’s Schools

Nice job, President-elect Obama. Congratulations, Arne Duncan!

Arne Duncan is a great choice for Secretary of Education because he's been in the trenches of school improvement for seven years as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Like Barack Obama, he's a pragmatist, not an ideologue. He's demonstrated a deep commitment and passion for improving opportunities for disadvantaged young people. He knows that improving schools means involving parents.

As Obama said in his announcement today, we have been "stuck in the same tired debates that have stymied our progress and left schools and parents to fend for themselves: Democrat versus Republican; vouchers versus the status quo; more money versus more reform — all along failing to acknowledge that both sides have good ideas and good intentions."

Duncan knows that neither vouchers nor more money will magically cure schools. Rather, we need to get parents involved, raise standards, improve the quality of teachers and leaders, and provide all children with a rich curriculum and experience.

As Obama noted in his press conference, "We need a new vision for a 21st century education system — one where we aren't just supporting existing schools, but spurring innovation; where we're not just investing more money, but demanding more reform; where parents take responsibility for their children's success."

We at GreatSchools stand ready to work with Arne Duncan and the Obama Administration to improve our nation's schools. Leveraging the technologies of our time, we have a unique opportunity to involve parents in this crusade in a way that has never been seen before.

Comments

[Karen L. MacElroy]

We have a wonderful opportunity for equal access reform, with the new ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA) that amends the Rehabilitation Act; the disability community needs a separate governmental entity to enforce the ADA (i.e. The Americans with Disability Office of Civil Rights). Especially since 54.4 million Americans have disabilities and all the other regulatory agencies currently have backlogs of discrimination complaints, some over a year before any investigation is conducted, if at all. However, most important the majority of the law enforcement regulatory agencies were opposed to the passing of the new ADAAA.

JUSTICE for ALL the “American Association of People with Disabilities” disagrees stating "Obama's Education Pick Failed Special Education". Therefore, please read their article, which can be found on their website at http://jfactivist.typepad.com/jfactivist/2008/12/chicago-center-for-independent-living-reports-on-obamas-education-pick.html

Therefore, the national disabled community should be using this window of opportunity to be heard about equal access reform. We can share the media spot light (under the microscope) on the designate Secretary of Education to alter the media on what concerns we have about Arne Duncan representing disabled students and what equal access reform we expect him to implement as the new Secretary of Education. Especially since President Elect Barack Obama has promised a ‘comprehensive agenda to empower individuals with disabilities to fits in with equalizing opportunities for all Americans, to reclaim America's global leadership on this issue by becoming a signatory to -- and having the Senate ratify -- the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. His promise includes a four-part plan designed to provide lifelong supports and resources to Americans with disabilities. The first part is the most important faucet to achieve equality, because of significant failure in four-year Universities is as follows:

“First, provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed.

Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity.

Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities.

And fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.”

Elisabeth Doyle, an international law attorney states,

“There is no emphasis on vocational training here in the U.S. under the law and it’s very difficult to talk seriously about raising levels of people with disabilities in the workforce when we’re not also talking about vocational training and education”.

Sadly, it seems some school “faculty and staff members believe students who use accommodations are not being held to the same rigorous academic standards as their peers. Although that has never been the purpose of accommodations, the ‘perception’ of the reduction of academic standards exists, and ‘hurts’ students with disabilities”. Emphasis Added.

This is exactly why the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services are awarding four million dollars to improve policies and practices, and public benefits, which would increase equal access to qualified disabled students to “provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed.

In addition, President Elect Obama supported the passing of the new ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA), which will take affect January 1, 2009. Nevertheless, we should have great concerns with the regulatory agencies enforcing these new disability anti-discrimination laws, since they seem to have an overwhelming national backlog of pending discrimination and retaliation cases.

In a recent telephone conversation Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office, they confirmed the serious problems with the U.S. Department of Education backlog of discrimination cases that extended well over a years before they are investigated, if at all. He also announced there is some major housecleaning underway at the U.S. Department of Education. As a result, we should see some marked changes in the next few months.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice and other governmental agencies were all opposed to the new ADA Amendment Act that also amended the Rehabilitation Act. Therefore, in order to accomplish President Elect first step,

“Provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed”. Therefore, we must hold designate Arne Duncan Secretary of Education and all other in the regulatory agency law enforcement position accountable to enforce equal access reform. If not, it does not matter how many new laws are passed (i.e. new ADA Amendment Act, amended Rehabilitation Act, Higher Education Opportunity Act, etc.), if none of the regulatory agencies will properly enforce Civil Rights laws to protect the disabled students. Therefore, we need an independent watchdog regulatory agency in America to protect the disabled community and implement equal access (i.e. The Americans with Disability Office of Civil Rights).

Sarah Peterson from JFA states, with the upcoming cabinet confirmation hearings, the legislators who passed the ADA and the ADAAA and other protections for people with disabilities have opportunities to act as the “watchdogs.” We, the citizenry, may have to nudge them along, but they have shown they can and will do it if the call is long, loud and frequent enough."

In a recent e-mail from Kareem Dale from the Barack Obama Presidential Transition Team, she states, "Following up on the email you sent to Melody Barnes concerning disability policy. I am the Disability Director for the transition. President-elect Obama and the entire transition team are committed to improving the lives of Americans with disabilities. The information you discuss regarding education, the ADA Amendments Act and other topics certainly are issues that the new administration are concerned about.

To that end, I have hosted meetings with approximately 80 disability organizations across the country during this transition period, all with the goal of discussing the transition process and listening to their top policy concerns and priorities. Members of our policy and agency review teams also participated in all those meetings so that they are aware of the community's policy priorities. Disability rights certainly are being heard and considered by the incoming administration.

Outreach will continue during President-elect Obama's administration to ensure that his administration has the best information about policies impacting all Americans, including Americans with disabilities.

Thank you very much for reaching out to the transition and staying involved in the movement for change."

In response to Equal Access Reforms e-mail to Transition team charged with domestic policy work, which states,

“Dear Ms. Barnes:

Change is coming with our long awaited new administration, since they recognize the various obstacles the disabled community struggle in their daily journeys through life. In addition, we are delighted President Elect Barack Obama supported the passing of the ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA) that amends the Rehabilitation Act, restoring 54.4 million disabled Americans civil rights. Nonetheless, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice and other governmental agencies were all opposed to the new ADAAA. Even the Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office confirms the serious problems with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights backlog of disability discrimination cases that extend well over a year before they are investigated, if at all. However, President Elect Obama recognizes disabled individuals can do extraordinary things, and he has practical solutions to empower disabled individuals to significantly boost the economy, increase tax revenues, reduce the number of recipients on Social Security Disability, Welfare, MediCal and Medicare, with the implementation of his comprehensive four part agenda. First, “provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed. Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity. Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities. Fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.” His comprehensive agenda will increase the importance on vocational training and education under the law. Providing equalizing opportunities for disabled individual seeking higher education and gainful employment, that will stimulate our economy, reduce the nation’s deficit, and provide lifelong support and resources to Americans with disabilities, that will lead to more amazing civil rights changes to every minority in America.”

“Yes, we can,” do extraordinary things, if provided the equal opportunity. Therefore, please consider the disability communities proposal below regarding “Disability Group Demands Seat at the Domestic Policy Table”.
Equal Access Reform http://www.equalaccessreform.com/

Footnotes:
1. Thompson’s ADA Compliance Guide newsletter, Disability Advocates Encourage Obama To Sign Disability Rights Treaty, December 2008/Vol. 19.No. 12

2. Cory, Ph.D., Rebecca C. (2009) Rationale for Using Universal Design January 2009 Section 504 Compliance Handbook newsletter, No. 362, p.4-5

3. Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office in charge of covering disability at 202-226-2068

[Jake]

I agree with Duncan that we should, "get parents involved, raise standards, improve the quality of teachers and leaders, and provide all children with a rich curriculum and experience." I know that it will be a hard road in the United States to eventually get there. I'm confident that this will require a national brain storm of ideas with leaders strong enough to take action that will help students and parents in America not be so ideological and more practical so that education does actually improve and the United States doesn’t continue to fall behind. As I read this bog, my thoughts keep coming back to the idea of getting parents involved. Parents always seem to be overworked and tired.

Most parents in the United States both work and pay for someone to rear their child and take care of their child's education. This is done by sending their child to the local day care center after class as the local public school. Children often only see their parents the first hour they are awake and a few hours before going to sleep. After hearing many opinions on this subject, I have gravitated toward to an opinion concerning parental involvement, specifically regarding their involvement capacity and motivation or lack thereof.

I have observed that most people are most motivated and won’t need imposed force when they feel what they are supporting was either their idea or something they have direct support over. In the work force, it seems that the "boss" who says "do it my way" often finds it hard getting motivated workers and has to constantly nag and checkup on employees. The "boss" who says "what do you think is the best way to accomplish this? Then lets do that." often finds very motivated employees and does very little his or herself. In different situations different types of "bosses" seem to work.

Parents all seem to have a job or career where they are paid money and this becomes their livelihood. There work demands the majority of their attention, dedication, and efforts. Too often the educational responsibilities of their children take on a life that is more like volunteerism. In volunteerism, people just plane won't do something unless they are convinced it was their idea and they have a say in what they are supporting.

This takes me back to "parental support" mentioned in this blog. I must say that the reason parent's aren't offering support in our public schools is because they have NO or very little say in the curriculum. Students and parents are offered classes to choose from, but the curriculum is selected by someone else and they usually only have one or two public schools to choose from based on where they live.

Basically, we are effectively asking our parents to support our public school curriculum but aren't allowing them real opportunities to select what their child is taught because of the diversity in the schools and those who actually are writing the curriculum seem based more on supposed neutral attempts to keep everyone happy. As Obama has learned, in the political arena, keeping everyone happy is impossible and it goes back to what one finds is of value.

I will end my comment saying that it seems that the kind of movement we want is an educational movement that allows parents to have great influence in the design of classroom curriculum in an educational environment that allows parents to hold enough control over the pay for administrators and teachers that effectively forces teachers and public schools to allow change based on parental desires in curriculum. I’m not talking about what one “supposes” parents desire based on biased researched statistics. I’m talking about a mechanism that shows real opinion similar to how we vote for the next president or how the amoral market decides which businesses sink or float based on buyer’s decisions.

Through this we can get parental involvement up and our education improved. We will hold teachers more accountable by parental ability to financially reward teachers that parents like and defund, even move away, teachers parents do not like based on how well these educators listen. This will generate the buy-in we need from parents to actually get them involved like they should be. The big question is, "how on earth can this be done, in a diverse public school, where you have a hodge-podge of different people with different wants and desires that are forced into one school based on where they live and how much money they don't have?