Support Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education

Recipient: Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. Michael Enzi

Chairman Edward M. Kennedy
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
U.S. Senate

Senator Michael Enzi
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Chairman Kennedy and Ranking Member Enzi:

On behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, with nearly 200 member organizations, we are writing to express our strong support for President-elect Obama’s designee Arne Duncan for U.S. Secretary of Education. As the long-tenured and widely respected Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the nation’s third largest school district, Mr. Duncan is uniquely qualified to lead the Department of Education.

During Mr. Duncan’s seven years leading CPS, the system made steady and sustainable improvements by most academic measures, including both test scores and graduation rates, while also laying the foundation for continuing growth. It is clear from a review of his record and the wide variety of programs implemented in Chicago, Mr. Duncan’s approach to improving schools was not driven by ideology, but rather by results. With the magnitude of the task awaiting the new Secretary of Education, no other approach is likely to succeed.

Among his achievements in Chicago, Mr. Duncan instituted significant reforms for the Chicago teachers’ corps, including pay-for-performance salary incentives and increasing the number of master teachers from 11 to over 1,100. Most notably, he implemented these reforms in cooperation with the teachers union, rather than in combat with it. Mr. Duncan and the Chicago Teachers Union have proven that an inclusive approach to school reform works best to create well-designed programs that will work when taken from the drawing board to the black board. Mr. Duncan’s track record at bridging the divide between so-called “reformers” and “traditionalists” will serve the Department well, especially during the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

As much of the nation’s attention is turned to the immediate economic crisis, Congress cannot lose sight of the fact that there can be no long-term solution to our economic problems without systemic education reform. America’s public education system has fallen far behind our industrial competitors and without systemic reform and significant increases in funding, our children will not be prepared to compete in the 21st Century economy.

We urge you to support Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education and to ensure that education reform and funding remain a priority issue in Congress going forward. We thank you for considering our views. If you have any questions, please contact David Goldberg, Senior Counsel, at 202-466-0087 or [email protected], regarding this or any issue.

Sincerely,
Wade Henderson, President & CEO
Nancy Zirkin, Executive Vice President