Arne Duncan

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called Tuesday for an overhaul of the federal No Child Left Behind law and urged Los Angeles school management and teachers union leaders to negotiate a new contract that strengthens teacher evaluations. "L.A. faces a perfect opportunity, not a perfect storm," he said during a speech at a United Way of Greater Los Angeles education summit at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "The opportunity, I think, is breathtaking.... Please don't squander it. " Many of Duncan's comments echoed remarks by President Obama earlier this month, when he said that the previous administration's signature school accountability law classifies too many schools as academic failures and does not give enough flexibility to local and state educators.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday that he supports gay marriage rights, a declaration that came as President Obama's reelection campaign downplayed comments from Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday that some saw as an evolution in the administration's position. Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Duncan was asked, "Do you believe that same-sex men and women should be able to get legally married in the United States?" The answer was simple and direct. "Yes, I do. " Duncan's answer went further than Biden did Sunday, when he said he was "comfortable" with the idea of "men marrying men" and "women marrying women" having the same rights as heterosexual couples.

As California schools brace for billions of dollars in budget cuts, the nation's top education official warned Friday that the state's students were in peril, and he challenged politicians and educators to embrace difficult reforms. "California used to lead the nation in education," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaking to dozens of mayors, superintendents and school board trustees at San Francisco City Hall. "Honestly, California has lost its way.

Los Angeles should be treated more like a state when it comes to education, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday in an attempt to persuade the U.S. Department of Education to give the city some special treatment. The mayor wants the city to receive federal money directly through Race to the Top, a competitive grant program, and get a waiver from No Child Left Behind, the President George W. Bush-era standardized-testing policy. Both options have been available only to states. Villaraigosa floated the plan at a panel discussion with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Education Secretary Arne Duncan at American University.

Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan, who over seven years maintained a positive story line for the troubled district, will join longtime basketball buddy Barack Obama's Cabinet as secretary of Education, a transition source said. Obama's nomination is to be announced today during a joint appearance at Dodge Renaissance Academy here. Since 2001, when Chicago Mayor Richard M.

The invitation under the Obama campaign logo is simple enough: "Obama Speaker Series Inaugural Event, Featuring The Honorable Arne Duncan. " Duncan is the Obama administration's secretary of Education. Earlier this month, he spoke in front of several dozen people at a private home in Brentwood, Calif., as part of a new fundraising venture launched by the Obama reelection campaign. Donors pay for membership in the "speaker series" and in turn get to hear speeches from administration officials, senior campaign aides and White House alumni.

The U.S. education secretary Thursday criticized the education funding cuts that California lawmakers have used to balance the budget, but offered limited alternatives for accomplishing the same level of cost savings in the short run. The idea that "somehow reducing the school days or school year or instructional time is a smart way to reduce spending -- I cannot support that," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a conference call with reporters....

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday that he supports gay marriage rights, a declaration that came as President Obama's reelection campaign downplayed comments from Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday that some saw as an evolution in the administration's position. Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Duncan was asked, "Do you believe that same-sex men and women should be able to get legally married in the United States?" The answer was simple and direct. "Yes, I do. " Duncan's answer went further than Biden did Sunday, when he said he was "comfortable" with the idea of "men marrying men" and "women marrying women" having the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Students filed into Chris Cox's dim classroom at Daniel Webster Middle School in Los Angeles' Sawtelle neighborhood, took their seats and immediately began working on a language arts warmup exercise. While Cox took roll, the eighth-graders silently worked. When they went over the answers, students raised their hands and waited to be called on. Down the corridor, seventh-graders streamed into Brent Walmsley's classroom and took over. Some sat on table tops; others wandered around the room, pausing to grab foamy handfuls of hand sanitizer that sloshed on the floor.

Schools must do more to prevent and respond to sexual violence on campus, Vice President Joe Biden said Monday as he introduced new federal guidelines to combat the problem. "Students across the country deserve the safest possible environment in which to learn," Biden said. "That's why we're taking new steps to help our nation's schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual violence on campus. " Biden was joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the University of New Hampshire, which was chosen because of its highly regarded efforts in sexual violence prevention.

The invitation under the Obama campaign logo is simple enough: "Obama Speaker Series Inaugural Event, Featuring The Honorable Arne Duncan. " Duncan is the Obama administration's secretary of Education. Earlier this month, he spoke in front of several dozen people at a private home in Brentwood, Calif., as part of a new fundraising venture launched by the Obama reelection campaign. Donors pay for membership in the "speaker series" and in turn get to hear speeches from administration officials, senior campaign aides and White House alumni.

Schools must do more to prevent and respond to sexual violence on campus, Vice President Joe Biden said Monday as he introduced new federal guidelines to combat the problem. "Students across the country deserve the safest possible environment in which to learn," Biden said. "That's why we're taking new steps to help our nation's schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual violence on campus. " Biden was joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the University of New Hampshire, which was chosen because of its highly regarded efforts in sexual violence prevention.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called Tuesday for an overhaul of the federal No Child Left Behind law and urged Los Angeles school management and teachers union leaders to negotiate a new contract that strengthens teacher evaluations. "L.A. faces a perfect opportunity, not a perfect storm," he said during a speech at a United Way of Greater Los Angeles education summit at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "The opportunity, I think, is breathtaking.... Please don't squander it. " Many of Duncan's comments echoed remarks by President Obama earlier this month, when he said that the previous administration's signature school accountability law classifies too many schools as academic failures and does not give enough flexibility to local and state educators.

The Obama administration estimates that 82% of the nation's public schools could fall short of federal standards this year, grades that are not only embarrassing but also mean government intervention for some of them. In a report to Congress on Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was urging Congress to change the federal standards so that failing grades are awarded only to the schools most in need of help. The law known as No Child Left Behind set up an aggressive review designed to make all public school students proficient in reading and math by 2014.

The U.S. education secretary Thursday criticized the education funding cuts that California lawmakers have used to balance the budget, but offered limited alternatives for accomplishing the same level of cost savings in the short run. The idea that "somehow reducing the school days or school year or instructional time is a smart way to reduce spending -- I cannot support that," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a conference call with reporters....

After a year of often using financial incentives to spur school reform, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan unveiled a different approach during a two-day conference in Denver: urging districts and teachers unions to develop trusting relationships and work together to improve student achievement. The move comes as federal education stimulus money has dried up, although President Obama has asked for a nearly $2-billion increase in education funding in his proposed budget. "I fundamentally believe that tough economic times are either going to paralyze folks or you're going to see opportunities through crisis," Duncan said.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will call for all states and school districts to make public whether their instructors are doing enough to raise students' test scores and to share other school-level information with parents, according to a text of a speech he is scheduled to make Wednesday. "The truth is always hard to swallow, but it can only make us better, stronger and smarter," according to remarks he plans to deliver in Little Rock, Ark. "That's what accountability is all about -- facing the truth and taking responsibility.

The selection of John Deasy to lead the nation's second-largest school system, expected Tuesday, would give the Board of Education a leader who is eager to make sweeping changes and who has earned the respect of disparate and often warring forces in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Taking on some of the thorniest issues in the system as top deputy to Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, Deasy has worked productively with union leaders, key community activists, the mayor's office and charter school operators.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will call for all states and school districts to make public whether their instructors are doing enough to raise students' test scores and to share other school-level information with parents, according to a text of a speech he is scheduled to make Wednesday. "The truth is always hard to swallow, but it can only make us better, stronger and smarter," according to remarks he plans to deliver in Little Rock, Ark. "That's what accountability is all about — facing the truth and taking responsibility.