Denver schools Superintendent Michael Bennet at the Democratic National Convention.
At TNR, Seyward Darby is reporting that three "reformers" comprise the short list to be Obama's secretary of education: Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan; Denver superintendent Michael Bennet; and Obama campaign surrogate Jo h n Schnur, CEO of the non-profit New Leaders for New Schools, which trains principals. As I had guessed, Linda Darling-Hammond, the union-friendly head of the transition team's education policy group, is not under serious consideration. It is unclear to what extent this was always the case -- Darling-Hammond is an academic without previous government or management experience -- and to what extent Darling-Hammond's vocal critics derailed her chances.
What is clear is that Duncan, Schnur, and Bennet are all folks who can sit across the table from union heads with some track record of credibility in their eyes -- credibility that fire-breathers such as Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee haven't earned. Bennet in particular is intriguing; during the Democratic National Committee this summer in his hometown, Bennet was able to avoid a high-profile teachers strike by negotiating a contract, including merit pay, that was acceptable to both unions and accountability hawks. Starting salaries increased, as did extra pay for teachers taking on more difficult assignments. Student achievement has risen slowly but surely under Bennet, but according to the Denver Post, he has been denied his own annual bonus due to concerns about lack of communication with the community. That is a common complaint about superintendents who close schools and significantly change policies, as Bennet has, and shouldn't be a disqualifying factor.
--Dana Goldstein
