welcome to "our world with black enterprise." this week i sit down with arne duncan to discuss our r÷zp scho. a panel of experts offers solutions for fixing the problem. that's what's going on in our world, stay with us.

when arne duncan was named secretary of education, his mission was topy; our nation's broken schools. two and a half yearshrk

there are too many children in the country today who aren't getting the education they need and deserve. to see what's happened already, see 45 states raising standards, telling them they're ready when they're not. they'll be measured boy the same standard. that's a big step in the right direction. to see how we bring better retain them. a lot of hard work, a long way to go, the level of courage and innovation, we're seeing not from us here in washington, but at the local level. it's been phenomenal to be a part of, and our job here is to to support that work going on in communities around the country. >> one of the things you talk about regularly is education as a civil rights issue. what do you mean when you say that? >> this work is real personal for me. li after

school program for 50 years, raised my brother and sister and i as part of the program since we were babies. what shaped me, is how poorly served is children were by their public schools inñr cp g cases. secondly the amazing potential of the children she worked with had to be successful. none of the children she worked with came fromñrg#uwkic4mkám w fp if you can ride in the front of the bus, but you don't read, you're not free. this is the unfinished legacy of z:pq.r&e there's been real progress, we have a long way to go, it's incumbent upon our generation to try to fulfill that. the only way we do that is through educational opportunity. >> talk about the distance we have to go.

sometimes"#zbeç÷aé@#5lañ 60, 70%. literacy rates are low. we've seen school violence, teen pregnancy. teacher attrition. it's still sort of a mess, right? >> we have a long way to go. you and i know that if amevjubwe basically condemned so poverty and social failure. there are no good jobs out there. it's got to be some form of higher education. trade, vocational training. that's gotñijf? goal of every single young person. if that's not happening, we have educated. we have to say, what can we do differently to help that young person be successful. it's their job to get a good education. teachers can't do this i+ññr91z but if we're perpetuating those dropout factories, we're not just condemning those children to poverty, we're hurting those entire communities. >> one thing that seems to be the norm is a conversation about teachers, teacher quality,

teacher attitude, even teacherl there seems to be a national conversation about whether teachers are doing the right thing or whether we're doing the right thing by teachers. how do you get touch on teachers? >> i don't think the goal is to get tough on teachers. a lot of things haven't happened that we're to turn around. teaching is tough, tough work, as you know better than anyone else. it's not for the faint of heart. we lose far too many young teachers because we don't adequately support them. ipñd workers. they're changing students lives every single day. often in tough communities, without resources, why are we scared to shine a spotlight and incentivize teachers every >> how do we measure that excellent -- i think one of the concerns many have is that we're measuring excellence through test scores. people who work in high risk areas, who work in at-risk areas can't show the test results, and

it looksç, as though vlzaj#khos teachers. >> whether it's in the tv industry, education, business, whether it's a sports team or not for profits, whatever it might be. you have to look at multiple measures, a range of ed indicators, you have to talk to !

@és mentioned no child left behind. that's by far one of the most contested and debated public policies around right now. where do you stand on it? >> i think no child left hinned is fundamentally broken.qh!w÷ are going to partner with states and districts to provide much more flexibility. no child left behind was far too punitive. the only reward for success, you're not labelled a failure. very priptive, very top dotgáwx we don't have all the good answers. you have to empower great local teachers, principals and school board members. it led to a dumbing down of standards. many states dummied down the standards, made5hjutjv;> good. it was bad for children, and ultimately bad for the states. we're looking to fundamentally change this, we want to reward excellence. we want to provide a lot more

flexibility. where states and districts are status quo, challenge the dropout factories, trying to make a chance students have a chance to be successful. we want to get out of their way. >> some would say that's the easy way down toward privatization. the idea that government should take its hand out. interests, wouldn't you say? >> it's not us backing out, it's holding folks accountable. but giving them the flexibility at the local level to be succ s successf successful. this is all about creating great public schools for our nation's children. 6xrpga4ij!s!ekphave pri schools has been the big push. you've been an advocate for charter schools. many of them have the money of private interests. they don't care about dollar signs and bottom lines. ç desperately underfunded. where you have individuals, folks who want to come in, help divide trips to college campuses or pay for that arts teacher that got cut out, i support

that. you need to hold them accountable and make sure they yor motives. if families want to help out, companies want to help out. we all need to unite behind our schools. >> ten years from now, yourj$yi. everything you want to put in place is put into place. what does the average urban school look like. >> we're all motivated by one goal. president obama's challenged us, we have to lead the world in college graduation again. one generation ago we did. rd-i want is for every single young person not to just graduate from high school, that's a stating point, not an ending point. graduate from high school. if we can lead the world in college graduation, we're going to have strong communities, communities and have a stronong country. >> thank you for spending time with us. >> we'll be right back. both barack obama and arne

duncan say education is a civil for resources that are central for all of our children. bro. where's your car? [ jake sighs ] it's ok. ♪ like a good neighbor, state farm is there ♪ oh hey jake! my car got jacked. i got it. ladies! [ chuckles ] guess you're walking. you got those figures for me yet? ♪ like a good neighbor, state farm is there ♪ with an intern!

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welcome back. des]áfu xdçç initiative to make america a global leader in education. statistics show that our schools are still struggling. can we do anything about it? are there any real solutions available? joining me here at the eagle academy for young men to discuss ynq/w÷e missy balmeier. and assistant professor of sociology and black studies at the college of new york. i just spoke to arne duncan and he laid outq rangeq+taáñ- 8ç initiatives that the obama administration is taking up.

what do you make of what the d administration has done so far? >> frankly, i'm disappointed. the one thing he talked about ug2 education. they recently approved waivers. originally no child left behind, all schools were supposed to have students that were proficient in 2013. in response, the obamañr5;)p"ç just pretend that part of the law doesn't exist. the second thing the administration has done has created the race to the top program. they've suggested that in order for states and schools to receive additional funding in education, they have to enter a chance of getting additional educational supports. unfortunately, both barack obama and arranne duncan say educatios the civil rights issue ofvl2imbç generation. >> that sounds like a free market solution, right?

do free market solutions wok for education? >> very often they don't. even when we had the discussion, we're talking about charter schools, and bringing inráuq)r of competition. the reality is,often times we find that our public schools don't rise to that level of competition. feel they don't have the resources they need, that charter schools have additional resources, they cannotd@sg axfa businesses, where competition may require one group too win and another group to fail. we can't afford that in education, we need all our young people to do well. i think this free market: $ráhp& and weç see that on the ground. >> you work for a school board in a major american urban city. have you seen the obama initiatives trickle down to the ground? have you seen positive effects of what's going on so far? >> no, very not. ,vhjñ we xy is the politics between the state and federal government, and how that may impact your

ability to access funds. i think what we're pleased to hear is that there's going to be something that's the modernization of the building. for the city of trenton, that's j8 you can# sa important. education should be something you're proud of, and they walk into a building that's falling apart around them. it's great there's going to be funding. >> the obama administration is going to put funding into cf1 o >> they're going to be putting funds toward that. the goal is that we will see those dollars? >> there's a sense also threw the policy, that the rising tide will lift the boats. we see!'cá0lcñqñ= theç state the risi g tide does not lift the boat that has cement in it. the reality we face, there needs to be some real affirmative kinds of things that are going to happen for black males for hfeìáhp &hc& otherwise the rising tide swamps the boat.

>> how do you raise young black men's votes? what do you do? >> i think what's important, the resources get to the places they need to be, as missy suggested.r at levels where teachers, administrators don't get them, so they can't bring the necessary resources. we also have to make sure young black men are in places that are cull fewer ali affirming. there are other black menifedyv& 1ârgm v:achievements. many of our schools treat black boys as if it's fast food service. if we look at the national rates, we're seeing graduation rates about 47% of black males graduate high school on time in the united states. in 2010. >> what's going on with our boys? >> schools, they don't see schools as a place that love them, that really deeply care about them, and otherwise are preparing them. isconnectionç starts very very early.

second, third, fourth grade, where a young man can go to school from kindergarten all the way through high school, and never have a black male teacher. t man whenç he doesn't see himself in the classroom. >> one of the things arne duncan spoke to me of, looking at teachers differently. not just throwing credentials at them. them how to teach math or reading, but training teacher s. can teach content and control the classroom. if you can't control your classroom, you can't teach your kids. if you can't care for your kids, you can't teach your kids. we have to get teachers trained in ways 20 identify what are the f1 o &3i mv to çthem. >> this idea of control is

important. one of the things that people suggested is that people should control their own schools at the administrative level, classroom level. one of the ways people talk about controlling schools is through the charter school movement. when we come back, isegwñw,wúnh talk to ymu about charter schools and whether or not they're a solution at all. when you just show up and get off the sideline and get into the game. show up at the school, when they know who you are, it makes all i told you, you were too close. but nobody ever listens to me. noooo, no, no, no. i mean, who does that? backs a car into another car? you know what? you make my head numb. i can't even. ughhh! my head is numb. ♪ like a good neighbor, state farm is there ♪ i'll take care of this. with a new boyfriend! hot -- with a new girlfriend! oh. this is what you like? yes it is! mmhm. i was perfect the way i was. okkk... [ male announcer ] state farm agents

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welcome back to our world. we're talking about schools and school reform now. over the last ten years there has been a charter school explosion in every city and every state. people are talking about charter schools as a way of responding to broken education systems. what do you all say about this? >> to me the biggest thing we've gotten out of charter schools, they have elevated the level of conversation for us to be focused on education. >> for the benefit of our viewers, can you say what a charter school is? >> charter schools essentially are -- they are public schools but privately managed. >> publicly funded and privately run? >> absolutely. i think those schools have had a level of autonomy around their

curricul curriculum, hiring and firing of teachers and staff that i think has made a great difference in terms of the work they're doing. >> you're in trenton, i remember maybe ten years ago in trenton, there was one major high school. trenton central high school, and then there was a charter school being birthed. now there's more charter schools and one more high school. it seems people are saying the charter school is the way to go. >> we just watch the charter school k to 8. i think if you again have the same challenges that we've spoken of with regard to the students. the same issues with teachers, and again the building leadership being key, you will have the same results. >> what do we do next? >> in light of these issues of responsibility. in light of these social conditions. what can we do to repair our broken schools? >> i think a big piece of it starts with keeping the students first. keeping what their needs at the forefront of every decision that's made.

doing things like parent academies so you can start to engage parents in a way they may not have been previously. really focus on students and not all the other policy and politics, which we really haven't engaged in, that runs rampant in terms of how we talk about education and how we keep students at the forefront of what we're doing. >> as they ask themselves is that question, what can i do? i would tell them, someone who's been a principal for 11 years in new york, and a teacher for many years notice system, when you just show up and get off the sidelines and get into the game, show up at the school, volunteer, just put some time in where they know who you are. it makes all the deference in the world. when they know you, you could be around, you're showing up. the way they respond to your child is totally different than somebody who they've never seen a parent, they drop them off on the first day and they don't see them for the next several years. >> i think i agree.

we have to get parents involved. we have to get off the sidelines. you can't just advocate for your child alone. if it takes a village to raise a child, you have to make sure that other families are involved. you have to make sure the school is successful in your neighborhood. you have to make sure those other schools do well. if you don't, even if your child is doing well, he's going to school or friends with others not in good places. his choices for the potential to have lifelong partnership change. run-ins with the police change. the reality is that you have to advocate for your child and the other chern at the same time. it's going to take a village to make sure education changes. >> even though we have a lot of work to do, the solutions will get us on the right path. [ male announcer ] first gear is over 25 years of innovation being one of the best selling cars in america over the last decade with some of the best mpgs in the class.

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