WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told urban school superintendents on Monday (March 13) that her agency intends to support their work and that “great public schools” should be among the education options available to families.
“I trust parents, I trust teachers, and I trust school leaders to do what is right for the students they serve,” she said, emphasizing her push to shrink the federal government’s role in local schools. “When Washington gets out of your way, you should be able to unleash new and creative thinking to set children up for success.”
It was a conciliatory message from an education secretary who has spent nearly three decades promoting vouchers, charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools. But it did not quell all the skepticism in the room at the annual legislative conference of the Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of 68 big-city school systems.
“I think we heard the kind of philosophical statements that everyone can support,” said Allegra “Happy” Haynes, a Denver school board member. “They were a little short on details…”
Read the full article here: