Arne Duncan
Encyclopedia
Arne Duncan is an American
education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education
. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools
.
, a Chicago
neighborhood encompassing the University of Chicago
. His father Starkey Duncan was a psychology professor at the university and his mother Susan Morton runs the Sue Duncan Children's Center
, an after-school program primarily serving African-American youth in the nearby Kenwood
neighborhood. While growing up, Duncan spent much of his free time at his mother's center tutoring or playing with students there. Some of his childhood friends were John W. Rogers, Jr.
, CEO of Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments) and founder of the Ariel Community Academy
, Illinois State Senator
Kwame Raoul
, actor Michael Clarke Duncan
, singer R. Kelly
and award-winning martial artist Michelle Gordon
.
Duncan attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
and later Harvard University
, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in sociology
. His senior thesis, for which he took a year's leave to do research in Kenwood, in inner-city Chicago, was entitled The values, aspirations and opportunities of the urban underclass.
While at Harvard, Duncan co-captained the varsity basketball team and was named a first team Academic All-American. From 1987 to 1991, Duncan played professional basketball, mostly in Australia
, with teams including Melbourne
's Eastside Spectres
, of Australia's National Basketball League.
While in Australia, Duncan met his future wife, now Karen Luann Duncan. They live in Arlington, Virginia, and have a daughter and son who attend elementary school there.
In 1992, childhood friend and investment banker John W. Rogers, Jr.
appointed Duncan director of the Ariel Education Initiative, a program mentoring children at one of the city's worst-performing elementary schools and then assisting them as they proceeded further in the education system. After the school closed in 1996, Duncan and Rogers were instrumental in re-opening it as a charter school, Ariel Community Academy
. In 1999, Duncan was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas
.
appointed Duncan to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools on June 26, 2001. Opinions vary on Duncan's success as CEO; one prominent publication notes improved test scores and describes Duncan as a consensus builder, while another finds the improvements largely a myth and is troubled by the closing of neighborhood schools and their replacement by charter schools, and what it describes as schools' militarization
.
competition. It asks states to vie for federal education dollars by submitting proposals that include reforms such as expanding charter schools and judging teachers partly on how well their students do on standardized tests. Duncan sends his own children to public schools. In March 2011 Duncan said 82 percent of the nation’s public schools could be failing by next year under the standards of the No Child Left Behind law. The projection amounts to a startling spike from current data, which shows that 37 percent of schools are on track to miss targets set by the law. He said “Four out of five schools in America would not meet their goals under [No Child Left Behind] by next year,” Duncan said in his opening statement. “This is why we have to fix the law now. Nobody can support inaction and maintain the status quo.”
to speak at their 2010 meeting.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education
United States Secretary of Education
The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession...
. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...
.
Early years and personal
Duncan was raised in Hyde ParkHyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
, a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
neighborhood encompassing the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. His father Starkey Duncan was a psychology professor at the university and his mother Susan Morton runs the Sue Duncan Children's Center
Sue Duncan Children's Center
The Sue Duncan Children's Center is a non-profit organization on the South Side of Chicago founded in 1961 by Susan Duncan, mother of current Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama's administration, Arne Duncan...
, an after-school program primarily serving African-American youth in the nearby Kenwood
Kenwood, Chicago
Kenwood, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the 77 well-defined Chicago community areas.Kenwood was part of Hyde Park Township, which was annexed by the City of Chicago in 1889....
neighborhood. While growing up, Duncan spent much of his free time at his mother's center tutoring or playing with students there. Some of his childhood friends were John W. Rogers, Jr.
John W. Rogers, Jr.
John Washington Rogers, Jr. is an investment manager who founded Ariel Capital Management , which is the United States' largest minority-run mutual fund firm, in 1983. He is chairman and CEO of the company. He served as the Board President of the Chicago Park District for six years in the 1990s...
, CEO of Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments) and founder of the Ariel Community Academy
Ariel Community Academy
Ariel Community Academy is a grammar school in Chicago, Illinois that used to be named Shakespeare Public School. In 1996, Arne Duncan and John W. Rogers, Jr. were part of a network that funded and supported the school. 80% of the eighth-grade graduates from the academy are accepted at elite area...
, Illinois State Senator
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...
Kwame Raoul
Kwame Raoul
Kwame Raoul is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 13th district since his appointment to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama in 2004...
, actor Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
, singer R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
and award-winning martial artist Michelle Gordon
Michelle Gordon
Tyna Michelle Gordon 티나 미셸 고든 is a national and international award-winning American martial artist. She is known for her work with children and as a martial arts instructor.-Early life:...
.
Duncan attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools is a private, co-educational day school in Chicago, Illinois. It is affiliated with the University of Chicago...
and later Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. His senior thesis, for which he took a year's leave to do research in Kenwood, in inner-city Chicago, was entitled The values, aspirations and opportunities of the urban underclass.
While at Harvard, Duncan co-captained the varsity basketball team and was named a first team Academic All-American. From 1987 to 1991, Duncan played professional basketball, mostly in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with teams including Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
's Eastside Spectres
South East Melbourne Magic
The South East Melbourne Magic were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League. The team was the result of a merger of two Melbourne clubs for the 1992 season...
, of Australia's National Basketball League.
While in Australia, Duncan met his future wife, now Karen Luann Duncan. They live in Arlington, Virginia, and have a daughter and son who attend elementary school there.
Education career
John W. Rogers, Jr.
John Washington Rogers, Jr. is an investment manager who founded Ariel Capital Management , which is the United States' largest minority-run mutual fund firm, in 1983. He is chairman and CEO of the company. He served as the Board President of the Chicago Park District for six years in the 1990s...
appointed Duncan director of the Ariel Education Initiative, a program mentoring children at one of the city's worst-performing elementary schools and then assisting them as they proceeded further in the education system. After the school closed in 1996, Duncan and Rogers were instrumental in re-opening it as a charter school, Ariel Community Academy
Ariel Community Academy
Ariel Community Academy is a grammar school in Chicago, Illinois that used to be named Shakespeare Public School. In 1996, Arne Duncan and John W. Rogers, Jr. were part of a network that funded and supported the school. 80% of the eighth-grade graduates from the academy are accepted at elite area...
. In 1999, Duncan was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas
Paul Vallas
Paul Gust Vallas is the superintendent of the Recovery School District of Louisiana, and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and the School District of Philadelphia....
.
Chicago public schools CEO
Mayor Richard M. DaleyRichard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
appointed Duncan to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools on June 26, 2001. Opinions vary on Duncan's success as CEO; one prominent publication notes improved test scores and describes Duncan as a consensus builder, while another finds the improvements largely a myth and is troubled by the closing of neighborhood schools and their replacement by charter schools, and what it describes as schools' militarization
Militarization
Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state...
.
Secretary of Education
Duncan was appointed U.S. Secretary of Education by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate on January 20, 2009. One of Duncan's well-known initiatives as secretary has been a $4 billion Race to the TopRace to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
competition. It asks states to vie for federal education dollars by submitting proposals that include reforms such as expanding charter schools and judging teachers partly on how well their students do on standardized tests. Duncan sends his own children to public schools. In March 2011 Duncan said 82 percent of the nation’s public schools could be failing by next year under the standards of the No Child Left Behind law. The projection amounts to a startling spike from current data, which shows that 37 percent of schools are on track to miss targets set by the law. He said “Four out of five schools in America would not meet their goals under [No Child Left Behind] by next year,” Duncan said in his opening statement. “This is why we have to fix the law now. Nobody can support inaction and maintain the status quo.”
Criticism from teachers' unions
Teachers' unions, such as the National Education Association, don't like the Obama Administration's embrace of charter schools, the dismissal of allegedly ineffective teachers, or the Race to the Top. The NEA gave the Race to the Top a vote of "no confidence," and invited critic Diane RavitchDiane Ravitch
Diane Silvers Ravitch is an historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Previously, she was a U.S...
to speak at their 2010 meeting.
External links
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