Next Education Secretary Set to Bridge Teachers Unions, Civil Rights Groups

By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

In seven years as chief executive of the Chicago school system, Arne Duncan earned a reputation as a leader who pushed for strong measures to improve schools but also reached out to the teachers union and the community.

As President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be become the nation's next education secretary, he'll draw on that background to try and bridge the deep divides among education advocates, teachers unions and civil rights groups over how to fix America's schools.

Obama transition aides said the president-elect will nominate Duncan, 44, at a news conference today in Chicago at 11:45 a.m. Eastern time.

Under his leadership of the nation's third-largest school system, charter schools were expanded and a performance-pay plan was launched with the blessing of teachers. He supports a program to bring people into teaching who have little classroom experience but strong academic backgrounds. In 2006, he called on Congress to double funding for the No Child Left Behind law.

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