US education secretary talks race to the top in Albany - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

US education secretary talks race to the top in Albany

ALBANY – U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, came to Albany Monday to talk about the $700 million dollars in "Race to the Top" money New York's public schools will be receiving. Its part of Duncan's nationwide bus tour called "Courage in the Classroom." He's touring each of the nine states and the District of Columbia that won the second phase of the competition.

"There were a number of things, really being able to challenge the low performing schools to do things differently. Thinking really differently and creatively about principal and teacher evaluations, having a data system," Duncan said.

Duncan met with the governor and state officials to congratulate New York's collaborative effort to build a better teaching and learning environment.

Duncan said, "We have to do a much better job of giving every single child a chance to fulfill their true academic and social potential. There are no good jobs out there for high school dropouts, none. There are almost no good jobs out there for someone with just a high school diploma."

According to Education Commissioner David Steiner, over the next three months the Department will be working with school districts; putting plans for those reforms in place.  

"This is not a one silver bullet," said Steiner. "This is a commitment to better assessments, to better teacher and principal preparation and holding folks accountable for their expertise."