Arne Duncan's
replacement has gone to battle with teachers unions, and they're not happy
about his promotion.
Last week, U.S.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan shocked the education world and announced
he'll be resigning in December. Riding out the rest of the Obama administration
as acting secretary will be John King, who is currently the No. 2 at the
department. Here's what you need to know about him:
1. King was most
recently the commissioner of New York state public schools. In this role, King
oversaw New York's schools during a period of tumultuous change driven largely
by the state's winning of a federal Race to the Top grant. He supervised the
implementation of the Common Core State Standards, new teacher evaluations
based in part on student test scores and the expansion of charter schools,
among many other significant policy changes.
2. King says he owes
his life to public school teachers: "Education can be the difference
between life and death," King said last week during a press conference at
the White House where President Barack Obama introduced him as the new acting
education secretary. "I know that's true because it was for me. New York
City public schools teachers are the reason I am alive. They are the reason I
became a teacher and the reason I'm standing here today." King had a
difficult childhood. By the age of 12, both of his parents, who were public
school teachers, had died. After that, he lived with his half-brother, who had
alcohol problems, and later his aunt and uncle. School, he said, was his
sanctuary.
In this Sept. 14, 2015 file photo, Education
Secretary Arne Duncan speaks during a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.
Duncan is stepping down in December after 7 years in the Obama administration.
Duncan says in a letter to staff that he’s returning to Chicago to live with
his family.
3. King has gone to
battle with teachers unions: Like his predecessor Duncan, King had to stand up
to teachers unions while commissioner of New York's public schools, a stance
that hasn't historically been the norm for Democrats. In 2014, the state
teachers union called for his resignation, and he's not exactly being welcomed
into his new role with open union arms, either. "We are disappointed to
hear that Deputy Secretary of Education John King Jr. will be appointed as the
acting secretary," Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers, said
last week in a statement. "No one doubts John's commitment to children,
but his tenure as New York state's education commissioner created so much
polarization in the state with parents and educators alike that even Gov.
Andrew Cuomo is finally doing a mea culpa over the obsession with testing. We
can only hope that King has learned a thing or two since his tenure in New York."
4. King is big on
charter schools: In 1999, King founded a charter school just outside Boston –
the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School – that became the highest-performing
urban middle school in Massachusetts. He helped open several others in New York
City as the managing director of Uncommon Schools, a nonprofit charter
management organization that focuses on closing achievement gaps and preparing
low-income students for college. The organization oversees 24 schools
throughout the city, as well as in upstate New York, Newark, New Jersey, and
Boston.
5. King hasn't been
OK'd by Congress for his current position and probably won't be the permanent
secretary: When King first came on board at the Education Department, he was a
"senior adviser" who was delegated the duties of the deputy
secretary, even though he'd been tapped to replace Jim Shelton, who at the time
was second-in-command at the department. His adviser title allowed him to shirk
congressional approval, a laborious and increasingly political process. When
Duncan says his final goodbye to the department in December, King's new
position will be acting secretary, which once again will allow him to serve
during the remaining year of the Obama administration without getting the OK
from Congress.
U.S. News
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