She brings a new and valuable perspective.
WASHINGTON, DC (February 6, 2016) — Jeanne Allen, the founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, today issued the following statement:
The ongoing protests over Betsy DeVos demonstrate a decades-old controversy among education leaders — is it better to have someone who has been inside traditional public education, or someone has watched and participated from the outside?
Because the Center for Education Reform has always sought to ensure the adoption of innovation and policy changes that deliberately upset the status quo, we believe Betsy DeVos will make a fine Education Secretary. She brings a new and valuable perspective that would benefit American families and children. We also understand the concerns that have been raised, but do not believe those should disqualify her from the important role of leading a national commitment to making all schools work for all children.
The real issue at hand is not about the Secretary of Education at all, but the clear and present crisis in education and the lack of opportunities that exist for so many families who struggle against the inertia of a stagnant and 20th century system. While the world is filled with 21st century technologies, most schools still deliver lessons as if they were using the McGuffey Reader.
American education is struggling. Recent scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show that considerably fewer than half (40%) of America’s fourth graders are proficient in math. Even fewer (36%) are proficient in reading. In fact, less than half of students at all grade levels are proficient in any of the nine curriculum areas studied.
We have a steep hill to climb, and it’s important that we put politics behind us and take the right road to get to the top.