SMHC

In a move indicative of the new administration’s commitment to working with teachers’ unions, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appointed Jo Anderson Jr. senior advisor to the department on March 12. Anderson, executive director of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and a SMHC Task Force member, will oversee outreach to teachers and teachers’ unions. Anderson joined IEA in 1972 as a field representative and later served as an organizer and a field supervisor. Since 1995, he has led IEA school improvement efforts as director of the Center for Education Innovation (CEI) and executive director of the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC). According to John Wilson, executive director of the National Education Association, “Jo Anderson is an innovator. They could not have picked anyone better who is visionary and has demonstrated through deed his commitment to all children.”

As chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, Secretary Duncan gained a reputation for working with teachers and their unions to move forward many progressive education reforms that others might have thought not possible, such as school selection of staff, performance pay pilots, standards-based teacher evaluations, and closing nonperforming schools. Duncan will put anything on the table for review, if he thinks it can improve schools. He also knows that any superintendent will need to collaborate with their teachers to move most leading edge reforms foreward. The appointment of Jo Anderson may signify a more collaborative approach than existed under the previous administration to reaching resolutions on what can become contentious issues.

Filed under: Education Community News, SMHC Task Force News