Commentary

Who Should Be In Charge of the U.S. Department of Education and Why?

Who Should Be In Charge of the U.S. Department of Education and Why?

Sandra Stotsky

Many parents have been tweeting to President Donald Trump to withdraw his support for charter school champion Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education and to propose a different kind of nominee for the U.S. Department of Education. The problem for these parents is not that both DeVos and the nominee for Deputy Secretary of Education, Allan Hubbard, have long promoted Common Core's so-called standards — which responsible parents don't want.

The problem is that the U.S. Department of Education currently has many staff employees who are determined to use the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed under Senator Lamar Alexander's watch in December 2015, to preserve the Common Core project and to centralize all education policies and data gathering at the federal level.

Baker’s State of the State Speech: Compromise Sorely Needed in Massachusetts
Commentary

Baker’s State of the State Speech: Compromise Sorely Needed in Massachusetts

NBP Editorial Board

Governor Charlie Baker in his State of the State Speech last week said: "Our obligation to the people we serve is too important to place politics and partisanship before progress and results."

Governor Baker unfortunately was not describing what really happens in the Commonwealth. His statement was one of hope, a plea, an exhortation.

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