U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has spent the past year trying to rise above the social media maelstrom that surrounded her rocky confirmation process. But the past two weeks showed she is still a prime target of vitriol from her opponents鈥攁nd sometimes her own worst enemy in the public arena.
DeVos has plowed ahead with her agenda to better meet the needs of individual students in part by expanding educational options through vouchers and charter schools. She鈥檚 visited schools that she says are embracing outside-the-box approaches. She鈥檚 even poked fun at her own performance at her confirmation hearing.
But many educators continue to find her message mystifying and often offensive, even as it resonates with some parents. It doesn鈥檛 help that her performance is not always ready for prime time.
The most bruising recent moment for the secretary came during a wide-ranging interview with 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� March 11 in which she seemed unable to answer basic questions about some of her policy positions. A department spokeswoman said the segment was 鈥渉ighly edited鈥� and did not accurately capture DeVos鈥� views.
The interview capped a week in which the public鈥檚 polarized take on the secretary was on full display:
鈥� DeVos got the cold shoulder from some students during a visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., the site of the mass shooting last month that killed 17 students and staff members. Her staff said she structured her visit to minimize disruption for the school.
鈥� On Twitter, the secretary tried to illustrate that little has changed in education over the past several decades using stock art, engendering social media outrage.
鈥� And in remarks that she called 鈥渢ough love,鈥� DeVos told state chiefs she sees a lack of innovation and ambition in their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act fell flat with many state leaders, while garnering praise from others.
Such instances show after more than a year in office DeVos still hasn鈥檛 figured out how to frame her message from her perch as a cabinet secretary, instead of as an advocate, said Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles, who is linked to the progressive movement.
鈥淪he鈥檚 clearly at a loss for what her role is. She can鈥檛 just be a critic of others鈥� policies,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he has to say what needs to be done. She鈥檚 now in a position to lead, and she can鈥檛 do that.鈥�
But DeVos does have an important message鈥攊t鈥檚 just not one everyone wants to hear, said Matt Frendewey, who helped lead communications work for DeVos at both the Education Department and at the American Federation for Children, the school choice advocacy organization she started.
鈥淪he鈥檚 challenging the belief that we have a world-class education system,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen families have to talk about selling their home to get a better school district, something is wrong in our country. That conversation is uncomfortable for [many] families and the education establishment that profits off of an education system that鈥檚 mediocre.鈥�
鈥�60 Minutes鈥� Slip-Up
The 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� segment offered DeVos a big platform for her contention that expanding educational options would help parents pick a school that best meets their child鈥檚 needs. And it may have been the secretary鈥檚 best shot so far to move beyond the impression her controversial confirmation hearing left in the public鈥檚 mind.
A 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� spokesman said, 鈥淭his interview speaks for itself.鈥�
During the interview, DeVos wasn鈥檛 able to point to examples in her home state of Michigan in which injecting more competition through charter schools or vouchers had increased student achievement. (She said this had happened in 鈥減ockets鈥� of the state, but didn鈥檛 say which ones.)
And she told interviewer Lesley Stahl she hadn鈥檛 鈥渋ntentionally鈥� visited low-performing schools to determine the cause of their problems. (鈥淢aybe I should,鈥� DeVos agreed when Stahl pressed her.)
For DeVos鈥� critics, the interview confirmed that she鈥檚 鈥渋ncompetent and doesn鈥檛 care about schools,鈥� said Mark Hlavacik, an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of North Texas in Denton and the author of Assigning Blame: The Rhetoric of Education Reform.
On the other hand, if 鈥測ou think the media has been unfair to her,鈥� Stahl鈥檚 pointed questions might have supported that perception too, Hlavacik said.
Elizabeth Hill, a spokeswoman for DeVos, said that 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� chose to air only 鈥渉ighly edited clips鈥� of the interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing that instead of showing any of the lengthy and substantive policy discussion Secretary DeVos had with Ms. Stahl, 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� chose to air only highly edited clips on limited topics to perpetuate a false narrative about her work,鈥� Hill said.
But Candy Banda, the director of school leadership for the Dallas Independent School District, said DeVos鈥� comments showed how removed the secretary is from what actually goes on in classrooms.
Banda, who spoke about her personal views and not the district鈥檚, was particularly put off by DeVos鈥� contention that the public funds students, not school buildings.
Students and their schools, 鈥渋nherently go together,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents fill school buildings, so they need to be funded and resourced,鈥� said Banda, who has spent 20 years in education and taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Stoneman Douglas Reception
Some students at Stoneman Douglas weren鈥檛 thrilled when DeVos stopped by on March 7. They complained on social media that she met with a very small group of students, not the entire school community, and didn鈥檛 spend much time in Parkland.
鈥淚 thought she would at least give us her 鈥榯houghts and prayers,鈥� but she refused to even meet/speak with students. I don鈥檛 understand the point of her being here,鈥� tweeted Carly Novell, a Stoneman Douglas student.
But one student, Kyle Kashuv, who later visited the White House, praised DeVos as well as President Donald Trump for how they reacted to the shooting. Last week, DeVos had dinner with Kashuv, who met in Washington with lawmakers about school safety on a day that coincided with the national student walkout.
At Stoneman Douglas, DeVos did indeed speak with several students, according to the school newspaper and the department.
The secretary also told the student journalists who covered her visit that she鈥檇 like to sit down with them and others in the near future, her spokeswoman said.
DeVos used her annual speech to the Council of Chief State School Officers to offer some 鈥渢ough love鈥� on state ESSA plans. States haven鈥檛 taken advantage of the law鈥檚 leeway, come up with innovative ideas to improve schools, and leave too many low-performing students behind, she said.
Her message didn鈥檛 sit well with many chiefs. They argued that DeVos asked for the bare minimum, then complained when she got it.
鈥淢aybe [DeVos] forgot this bit when penning her lecture, but the letters she sent states specifically asked us to stick to the consolidated plan template and only include information 鈥榓bsolutely necessary鈥� for [department] consideration,鈥� tweeted Tony Evers, Wisconsin鈥檚 state superintendent of public instruction. Evers is running to replace Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a DeVos ally who did not sign off on his state鈥檚 plan.
But at least one chief welcomed DeVos鈥� prodding.
鈥淚 appreciate the push,鈥� said Nevada Superintendent Steve Canavero, whose state was singled out for praise in the speech. 鈥淪he鈥檚 challenging us to rethink our flexibilities.鈥�
Stock Art
Some educators were also taken aback on March 6, when DeVos tweeted a picture of two classrooms鈥攐ne seemingly recent, one that appeared decades old鈥攂oth showing similar set-ups in traditional classrooms.
鈥淓verything about our lives has moved beyond the industrial era. But American education largely hasn鈥檛,鈥� she tweeted.
Teachers angrily fired back pictures of their own classrooms where students worked in groups, held book clubs, put together projects. That鈥檚 what real classrooms look like today, they told DeVos. The secretary, they noted, had used stock art.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 how my public school classroom looks,鈥� wrote Anna Baldwin, a teacher in Arlee, Mont., who recently served as a teaching ambassador at the department. 鈥淜ids collaborating, round tables and rolling chairs, laptops for individual study. Do your homework, @BetsyDeVosED.鈥�
