Last month, Secretary of Education Rod Paige joined four former secretaries of education to examine teacher shortages, achievement gaps, school vouchers, standardized testing and other issues that affect grades K-12 at an education summit at Duke University. The Education Leadership Summit marked the first time that all living secretaries of education were brought together.
In addition to Paige, the panel featured Lamar Alexander, William Bennett, Lauro F. Cavazos and Richard Riley (Shirley M. Hufstedler was sick with the flu and had to cancel). Former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt served as the moderator. Each of the participants had an opportunity to give a brief historical perspective on his tenure as Secretary, comment on the recently passed No Child Left Behind Act, and offer solutions to improving the current state of education. Their comments included more parental and community involvement, emphasized early childhood development, and suggested making teaching a year-round profession.
The secretaries submitted more in-depth essays that will be available in the May issue of Phi Delta Kappan magazine.
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No Child Left Behind