U.S. Ed Secretary meets with Local Leaders

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Today, about twenty local leaders in education, politics, business, and non-profits told the U.S. Secretary of Education that they want national education standards and assessments. Secretary Arne Duncan solicited their thoughts in an hour-long discussion at Atlanta Tech High School.

WABE's Odette Yousef reports.

Duncan has been touring the country in advance of a reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, asking how to improve it. He said the push for national standards has reached its time.

DUNCAN: This has to be driven at the state level, it cannot be driven by the federal government. And having states continue to push very, very hard gives us a chance - I think a historic chance, frankly - to break through.

Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson accompanied Duncan, and recalled how the debate over national standards nearly killed No Child Left Behind 8 years ago. But he hopes this time around, the debate will be different.

ISAAKSON: The problem is our students compete nationally to go to universities and colleges, they compete internationally for jobs. And it's very important to have some type of a comparison and benchmark that is national, and that is broader in scope than maybe the state that they're in.

The discussion included, among others, the heads of Atlanta Public Schools and Gwinnett County Public Schools, representatives from the state's teachers union and board of education, and early learning advocates.

Duncan praised Atlanta Tech High School, a charter school where 97 percent of students graduate, even though most receive free- and reduced- lunches.

Odette Yousef, WABE News.