Duncan Calls For NCLB Overhaul During Los Angeles Visit

The Los Angeles Times (3/23, Song) reports that in a speech at a United Way of Greater Los Angeles education summit in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan "called...for an overhaul of [NCLB] and urged Los Angeles school management and teachers union leaders to negotiate a new contract that strengthens teacher evaluations." The Times adds, "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. ... Duncan also urged Los Angeles educators to use student growth as a factor in evaluations, something he and Obama have long advocated."

 

The AP (3/23, Hoag) adds that during his speech, Duncan "came down hard on the dismal performance" of the Los Angeles Unified School District, "the nation's second largest school district. Although he noted that district leaders are now reforming underachieving schools, he said that the district's 50 percent graduation rate is the lowest among the nation's big-city districts, and reeled off a litany of similar statistics." Duncan also "called on district management and labor unions to collaborate to put student interests first."

 

The Press Telegram (CA) (3/23, Puente) reports that Duncan "paid a visit to Long Beach's Tincher Preparatory School on Tuesday as part of a two-day trip to California to highlight the need for education reform. In a roundtable discussion with teachers, parents, students and school leaders, Duncan echoed President Barack Obama's call to fix" NCLB. The Press Telegram notes that Duncan "listened intently as administrators and teachers talked about the programs that make Tincher a success."

 

KABC-TV Los Angeles, CA (3/23, 8:43 ET) broadcast, "The US secretary of education has alarming news about future of local classrooms. Arnie Duncan met with parents, teachers and administrators at Tincher Preparatory School in Long Beach today to talk about dire need for changes to our education system. Earlier, he told the crowd that in three years, nearly every school in Los Angeles Unified School District will be classified as failing if the No Child Left Behind Act is not reformed. Duncan says the current law is too focused on test scores and not a well-rounded curriculum."