Teachers union in california has diluted every change from washington.Not for reasons of possibility of preformance or improvement but change is only good for the lemmings not the union folks.They have a comfort zone and are satisfied with it.

If it works for the children or the parents is not a factor,and was never a factor.Unions are about power and power is for keeping once attained.They have power and the k-12 system is a disaster in most states.But here they took it from college prep to prison prep.And it only took them 30 years to do it.The fact that it took so long might be a commentary on gov union incompetance.

When we look at the real problem it is with minority student's why who knows? are unions racest,could be don't see many Black teachers around here if any.Maybe thats the problem.Or it just that we reward old worn out depressed teachers with a job for life and they are unable to transition to a different life with out the security and power a teacher can have if respected.

Beyond this we had a great system back in the day, it was either the children were better than they are now or the teachers were,or the system lost control and handed the children some rights they hadn't earned yet?

I choose control,I remember when my class took over the school and demanded a smoking area,once they complied, against the parents wishes we knew we had them.Then we started law suits if they looked at us.Yes liberalism and special rights not yet earned might be it.Real smart college grads with teaching degrees..hmmm So it was the children that destroyed the education system not the parents they were kicked off campus....

KOOLAIDALERT: Jun. 12, 2011 - 10:16 PM EST

DEMOLIBs want to dumb down this great country of ours as much as possible because that's who their constituents are; dumbed down.

I guess that's why Bush signed NCLB and made that the law of the land. Those darn democrats. How did they ever think of such a devious plan to get a republican controled legislature and a republican president to write and implement their secret agenda.

The department of Education is a Total Failure. As is government Education.

Teacher unions are the problem. Local control of education is the solution. Why should we spend extra tax money to goes to DC and then tax property owners again locally. Only the politicans can see the wisdom of this.

If you vote for democrats, you are the problem.

BUSH'S STUPID AS S PLAN TO "LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND" GUARANTEED THAT EVERY KID WOULD GRADUATE WITH THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR. YOU CANNOT TAKE 85 IQ KIDS AND PUT THEM WITH 105 +. THAT IS A SURE DISASTER AND THAT IS WHY AMERICA TODAY IS RANKED 46 WORLD WIDE IN ACADEMIA. YOU MUST SORT KIDS BY IQ'S AND THE HELL WITH THE STUPIDS, LIKE THEY SAY , YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID.

Secretary Duncan,

I would urge you and your staff to keep an eye on Delaware right now. As you are aware, the state is receiving Race to the Top money, which would seem to indicate that it is committed to its students and schools, whether said schools be public or charter schools. Although the state may be telling you it is committed to the ideals of Race to the Top, its Department of Education's actions would indicate otherwise, as pertains to the plight of a small charter high school in New Castle County.

Pencader Charter High School is a small high school located in New Castle, Delaware. It serves 600 plus students and academically outperforms other public high schools in the area. The school opened in 2005, but did not receive adequate financial oversight from the DeDOE from the time it’s doors opened. An incompetent administrator and negligent board chair led the school into a $600,000 deficit by the 2010-2011 school year. Interestingly, the school’s charter was renewed by DeDOE last year, and DeDOE knew the school was operating under a deficit when it renewed the charter in 2010. The school leader, Brad Catts, was fired in January and the board chair was asked to step down. Harrie Ellen Minnehan, a former administrator and teacher, stepped into the role of board chair, and Dr. Ann E. Lewis was hired as the new school leader. Upon stepping into the role, Dr. Lewis realized that the school needed guidance from DOE in order to become financially solvent again, and she actively sought help from the DeDOE at this time. Dr. Lewis’ efforts appear to be in vain because although she was able to cut costs and prove to the Delaware Department of Education that she could turn the school’s finances around in one year, on Friday, June 10, a DeDOE financial review committee voted to recommend the revocation of Pencader Charter High School’s charter. I attended this meeting, and based on what I witnessed, I saw no evidence of cooperation or commitment to this school. I found this odd, because the DeDOE has bailed out larger public districts, having recently given Christina School District $21,000,000 to become solvent again after former superintendent Joseph Wise created a deficit that threatened to shut down the district, but yet would not give this school more than two months to overcome its financial problems? I know that other larger districts have received bail out money as well. The action of this committee was also surprising, because Deputy Secretary of Education Dan Cruce led Dr. Lewis to believe that the school had produced the correct documentation and had shown its commitment to fixing the problems. The willingness to bail out other public schools, yet not support charter schools suggests that there is a double standard where charter schools are concerned here in Delaware, and an investigation needs to be made into why this is. All this school needs is time, cooperation and commitment from the Delaware Department of Education in order to continue its work in providing a free, high-quality education to the students it serves.

Now to the point. As stated before, Pencader Charter High School academically outperforms other high schools in the area. The Delaware Department of Education’s website corroborates this statement. The school boasts a 97% college acceptance rate, and opens its doors to all students from diverse backgrounds. A student from the 2011 graduating class received a full scholarship to Brown University. If the DeDOE and Governor Jack Markell follow this committee’s recommendation to close the school, then over 610 students will be displaced and forced back into academically under-achieving schools. I am left to question why Pencader students are less deserving than students in any other school district. Quite frankly, this sounds like a race to the bottom to me. I would urge you to contact Dr. Ann E. Lewis at (302) 472-0794, or board president Harrie Ellen Minnehan, at 302-545-0981 for more details on how this process has played out. As a taxpayer, I want DOE to answer questions and as a federal taxpayer, I question whether or not the Delaware Department of Education should be granted the Race to the Top money at all since it has shown an unwillingness to support charter schools and their students. I will draw a quote from the US Department of Education’s press release from June 10 to demonstrate my point:

“During the visit, [to Delaware] ISU officials—Race to the Top Program Lead Meredith Farace and Race to the Top Program Officer Victoria Hammer—assessed Delaware's progress toward implementing and achieving the goals described in their plan as well as identified areas where the Department can provide support and technical assistance.”

Do not all students in Delaware deserve support? Why is it okay to send these kids back to underperforming schools? I would urge USDOE to come back and talk to those of us on the ground level here in Delaware. I would urge you to speak to charter school leaders in Delaware. I would urge the US Department of Education to commence an investigation into whether or not the DeDOE supports it charter schools, and would like the double standards issue addressed. As a taxpayer and educator, I do not disagree with helping financially troubled school districts, whether help be in the form of bailout money, or time and support to work through the problems, because at the end of the day, it is about the kids and it is the right thing to do. What I will not abide as a taxpayer, is the double standard exhibited by DOE towards charter schools. The kids served by charter schools have the same rights as other kids served by Delaware state public schools to a quality education. It is time that DOE is held accountable to answering our CONCERNS and it’s access to RTTT funding should be questioned.

I wonder about the intellectual abilities of an education secretary who begins an article with "everyone responsible...." More of a political statement than anything else and typical of politicians -- make your position sound like the overwhelmingly preferred one and that anyone who disagrees is by implication "irresponsible." An education secretary's job should be apolitical. If his position is worth pursuing, then the merits of his argument should be the intellectual basis for his position - not political spin. His logic is undermined by later statements about how nothing has been done for years (if all responsible people are of a single mind, why no action -- congress' normal snail pace notwithstanding?).

I do not agree with the idea that he should replace Congress - he's not elected. When "regulatory flexibility" replaces actions by elected officials, democracy is diminished (of course, democracy also is predicated on elected officials doing their jobs, not just raising money to get re-elected). This proposal is similar to the health care panel - give some group power and try to limit their accountability.

It was a bi-partisan bill authored mainly by the late Ted Kennedy (D) and George Miller (D) from CA.

As a conservative, NCLB is an example of a terrible GW Bush initiative (not coincidentally, co-sponsored by Ted "No Public School For My Kids" Kennedy). Centralizing a function like education (or health care) is a guaranteed failure.

Naturally, as day follows night, Washington bureaucrats decide they know better than local folks, and use whatever financial or other carrots and sticks at their disposal to impose a one--fits-all, politically correct model.

Education has become a race not to the top, but to the lowest common denominator - so busy meeting every one of a thousand standards you assure that none are ever exceeded. And when the standards are not met, you lower them and declare success.

And NCLB is from the same playbook as ObamaCare - Direction from the top, results at the bottom.

I can understanding not wanting any child 'left behind', but that advance isn't going to come off my child's back. Slavery is slavery, and there is no kind, or fair way to enslave a child.

If a child has no place in a low scoring, or failing school with no access to arts, science, or individualized attention, they should not be there. Gambling on that child's future, for the sake of a child who may only ever be a menace to society is more than unfair, to both children, and society at large.

This is not about race, or class, because sometimes, the best intentioned social policies end up hurting children of color from disadvantaged homes the most.