America’s education leaders have a common goal—to see that all children receive a world-class education. Though these leaders hold a common goal, they also speak for groups with conflicting interests, like teachers, administrators, politicians, activist organizations, corporations, and parents. Even within each group there are big differences about what’s best for children. So, in 2012, who are the most influential people in the debate over the direction to take American education? These 10 leaders have their hands near the levers that set education policy.
| 1 | Arne Duncan |
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Secretary of Education
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Arne Duncan is considered the most powerful of America’s Secretaries of Education for one reason: money. Unlike the past 8 Education Secretaries, and due to the Great Recession, the Department received a windfall 100 billion in stimulus dollars to invest in public schools. To promote the President’s reforms, Duncan put 4.35 billion of these dollars into a fund he named "Race to the Top” and then invited states to compete for the money. To be eligible ... | 2 | Bill Gates |
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Co-Chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
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Bill Gates’ is PCM’s second most influential education leader for two reasons: the billions of dollars in his Foundation and his longstanding commitment to education. By using his “philanthro-capital," Gates can impact public education policy without needing to be elected and reelected ... | 3 | Rep. George Miller, (D-CA) |
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Ranking Member, Education and Workforce Committee
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Rep. George Miller is one of the most experienced lawmakers on public education. In 2001, along with Speaker John Boehner, Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. Judd Gregg, he actually wrote the No Child Left Behind Act, the name given to the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. What has Rep. Miller said about this legislation? ... | 4 | Linda Darling-Hammond |
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Charles E. Ducommon Professor of Education at Stanford University
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Linda Darling-Hammond is a national treasure. In 2006, Education Week selected her as one of the ten most influential people in education policy for the previous decade. This list included two presidents, a governor, a senator, a congressmen, as well as billionaire Bill Gates. That’s powerful company. During the 2008 election and transition, Obama asked Darling-Hammond to serve as his chief education advisor, causing ... | 5 | Diane Ravitch |
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Education Historian; Research Professor of Education, NYU
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The day Diane Ravitch published her book, The Death and Life of the Great American Public School System, and made mincemeat of her former positions on accountability, standardized testing and charter schools, her allies and colleagues cried, “Left wing!” How could the former Assistant Secretary of Education, one of the founding thinkers at the table when ... | 6 | E.D. Hirsch, Jr. |
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Founder/Chairman, Core Knowledge Foundation; Former Professor Emeritus of Education and Humanities at University of Virginia
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How did E.D. Hirsh, Jr., an English professor and literary critic, become one of the foremost education reformers of the last half-century? The journey started with him asking a question--why were the very bright freshmen he taught so ill prepared for college literature? That question led to a groundbreaking discovery that he said changed his life. His journey, ... | 7 | Randi Weingarten |
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President, American Federation of Teachers
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The New Yorker named Randi Weingarten one the most influential leaders in New York education. Crain’s put her on the list of the 25 most powerful women in New York City. This acclaim came before the American Federation of Teachers, a labor union of 1.5 million teachers, elected her president in 2008, which elevated her power and influence ... | 8 | Clayton Christensen |
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Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Founder, Innosight Ventures; Co-founder, Rose Park Advisors
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At 6’10” Clayton Christensen literally stands head and shoulders above the crowd, but that is a minor reason for why he commands attention. His list of accomplishments is what impresses--Rhodes scholar, Harvard MBA, best-selling author of five books, including a masterpiece, The Innovator’s Dilemma, and a venture capitalist. A humble and spirited man ... | 9 | Geoffery Canada |
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President and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone
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What if the problem of guns and drugs in Harlem could be solved, Geoffrey Canada first wondered, would that let the people lift themselves out of poverty? For more than two decades as the CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Geoffrey Canada has been working to rescue kids from violence and chaos. His dedication and sustained effort have made him a world expert on anti-poverty programs. Called one of the "biggest social experiments ... | 10 | Michelle Rhee |
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Founder and CEO, Student’s First, Former Chancellor, D.C. School District, Founder, The New Teacher Project
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Oprah called her “Warrior Woman” for children. Colbert called her “King of the School Reform Mountain.” Michelle Rhee, the nation’s first celebrity school chief, brought glamour, fame and unfamiliar power to a local political role that in the past was uncelebrated. As the Chancellor of the D.C. School District, appointed by the mayor, she made the cover of Time ... 
nice
Posted by: maryjane | May 22, 2017 at 06:14 AM