October 19, 2015

• New Leaders Take the Helm
• Connecting Educators
• Did You Know?

New Leaders Take the Helm 

Deputy Secretary of Education John King is set to take the lead of the U.S. Department of Education once Secretary Arne Duncan steps down from his position in December. Although educators outside of New York may be unfamiliar with King, he has been active—albeit somewhat polarizing—in education for years.

After losing both of his parents at an early age, King sought refuge in the comforts of his classroom. He has since devoted his career to ensuring that all students have access to great teachers and great schools. King’s policies, however, haven’t been without criticism. In 2011, King became the commissioner of education for the state of New York, a post he held until joining the Department in December 2014. During his tenure in New York, King ushered in practices such as teacher evaluations tied to student performance and supported the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments, all of which garnered a significant amount of public pushback. Because President Obama is not formally nominating King as secretary of education, he will serve as acting secretary for the final year of Obama’s presidency, bypassing the lengthy and potentially challenging Senate confirmation process. In his appointment announcement, President Obama said King “has been an educator all his life—a teacher, a principal, a leader of schools, New York State’s education chief. He is the right man to lead the Department.”

The U.S. House is also in the market for new leadership. In a stunning decision that rocked the Capitol last month, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced his resignation, with observers speculating that the challenge to find unity among House Republicans had finally taken its toll on him. Many assumed that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) would step in to the leadership role; however, he has announced that he will not seek the position. Who will ultimately fill the position and how that decision will affect the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) rewrite process, which is now in need of rejuvenating, has yet to be determined. One scenario is that John Kline (R-MN), the House education committee chairman, could be elected as interim speaker, which could help move the ESEA rewrite to the top of the House agenda.

But the feds aren’t the only ones with new leadership. ASCD Executive Director and CEO Deb S. Delisle embraced her new role as head of the association in July and recently reflected on her road to ASCD and the future of education in an interview for Education Update. Delisle explains that one of her proudest accomplishments in her previous role as U.S. assistant secretary of education was bringing the voice of educators into policy conversations. Read the full interview to learn about her take on the importance of educator input in an ESEA rewrite, what she thinks is the greatest strength of public education, and her experience with one student who changed her perspective.

^ Return to top.

Connecting Educators 

October is Connected Educator Month, which means educators from around the world have been participating in online events, building personal learning networks, and advancing their technology skills while engaging in online professional development opportunities.

Tomorrow, October 20, at 8:00 p.m. eastern time, educators can participate in an advocacy-focused Twitter chat called “Why Educators Should Be Advocates.” Hosted by Alabama educator and ASCD Influence Leader Meghan Everette, the chat will provide seasoned advocates with the opportunity to tell their stories, and it will also allow educators new to advocacy to ask questions and get the support they need to increase their policy influence. Follow Everette (@bamameghan) and ASCD Advocacy Manager Megan Wolfe (@mwolfe09), and use #EdAdvBecause to participate.

To support educators in their quest for digital professional development (PD), ASCD is offering two free PD Online^® courses and a free e-book download throughout the month. The courses, Leading Professional Learning: Building Capacity Through Teacher Leaders and Formative Assessment: Deepening Understanding, offer strategies for building capacity with ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded professional learning and put student learning data to work. The e-book, Michael Fisher’s ASCD Arias™ publication Digital Learning Strategies: How do I assign and assess 21st century work?, explores the types of assignments that can be effectively done online, how teachers and students can leverage global interactions to improve their work, and how teachers can assess digital projects and other online work. Take advantage of these free resources today!

^ Return to top.

Did You Know? 

An estimated 5 to 7.5 million students are chronically absent, missing at least 18 days of school each year. Federal departments and agencies have teamed up and introduced a new initiative to combat this issue. Every Student, Every Day: A National Initiative to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism outlines next steps to address the issue and calls on states and communities to take immediate action to eliminate chronic absenteeism by at least 10 percent each year, beginning in the current school year.

^ Return to top.

• Join Educator Advocates to receive Capitol Connection in your e-mail inbox every week.
• Access the full Capitol Connection archive.