(2008-11-16) Obama Education Guru

Barack Obama has people in the running for top Education role(s) with varying backgrounds and perspectives.

• Joel Klein is of course infamous and controversial.

• Michelle Rhee is head of the Washington DC Public School system.

• Linda Darling Hammond of Stanford University has been considered critical of Teach For America, for under-preparing its teachers.

• Wendy Kopp started Teach For America.

• Jon Schnur founded the group NewLeadersForNewSchools, a kind of Teach For America for principals that is based in Manhattan.

I don't get the feeling that any of them are in favor of decentralization.

Dec1: fresh list of the top candidates.

Dec17: he picked Arne Duncan from Chicago. Alexander Russo isn't impressed: Arne Duncan comes from a big city with a success story that the national press failed to figure out was mostly a mirage... given sweeping powers over schools and a powerful political patron, Duncan's efforts failed to convince more white and middle class parents to send their kids to public schools, and failed to convince downstate legislators to revamp the state funding system despite Democratic control of the legislature and the Governor's mansion.