Former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., is taking the helm of The Education Trust, an organization in Washington that has spent decades advocating for poor and minority children.
King will be only the second leader in Ed Trust鈥檚 history, taking over for Kati Haycock, the organization鈥檚 chief executive officer who founded Ed Trust in the 1990鈥檚.
鈥淥ver its 25-year history, The Education Trust has been a leader in the work to bring attention and action to closing long-standing opportunity and achievement gaps that separate too many low-income students and students of color from their peers, pre-kindergarten through college,鈥� said David V. Britt, the chairman of Ed Trust鈥檚 board of directors. 鈥淭his history provides a strong foundation on which to build new partnerships, new work, and new learning鈥攊ndeed a new movement鈥攁nd we think John is exactly the right leader for this next stage of the organization鈥檚 work.鈥�
The move seems like a natural fit for King, who made advocating for equitable access to education for all students, including historically overlooked kids, a central mission in his single year as the head of the department.
King, who served as President Barack Obama鈥檚 second education secretary, has outlined an ambitious agenda for the organization, starting with working with states and districts to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. He noted in an interview that Ed Trust has recently participated in a training institute, helping advocates on the ground in 22 states learn about the law and how its new flexibilities can be used to help at-risk children.
King is hoping to build on that work. He wants to Ed Trust to help 鈥済alvanize a movement鈥� among educators, parents, civil rights leaders, the business community, faith-based organizations, to insist that states use their flexibility under ESSA to advance equity. That would include both gaps in achievement and 鈥済aps in opportunity鈥� such as unequal access to advanced coursework and arts education.
And he expects the organization鈥攚hich has offices in California, Michigan, and New York, as well as Washington鈥攚ill continue to bring a 鈥渞eal vigilance鈥� when it comes to making sure civil rights laws are enforced at both the federal and state levels.
鈥淓d Trust will continue to be a loud voice for protecting student civil rights, and we鈥檒l continue to use data, research, evidence to call attention to places where students鈥� civil rights are not being protected,鈥� King said.
For instance, he recalled a case where the Education Department鈥檚 office for civil rights worked with a district that had sent around notices to parents about STEM-focused programs written only in English. Kids from Spanish-speaking homes were 鈥渟ignificantly under-represented鈥� in the program. OCR worked with the district to correct the problem.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 at the federal level or the state level we鈥檙e going to be a voice pointing out those kinds of disparities, insisting that policymakers take responsibility for changing them,鈥� King said.
And while he鈥檒l continue the organization鈥檚 focus on college access, he鈥檇 also like to emphasize college completion. He praised universities that use data to help figure out which students are in danger of falling behind.
In his work as education secretary, King, the former state of commissioner of education in New York, often talked about his own background to make a case for the impact K-12 policies cooked up in Washington, states, and school districts can have on vulnerable children.
The son of two educators, King, who is African American and Puerto Rican, was orphaned at 12, following his fathers鈥� struggle with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. King credits New York City Public School teachers with saving his life. After graduating from Harvard University and earning a master鈥檚 degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, King taught at charter schools before helping to start Roxbury Prep, a charter, and later, helping to found Uncommon, a network of charter schools.
Later, during his tenure as state education commissioner in New York, he clashed with teachers鈥� unions on implementation of the Common Core State Standards, but won plaudits for his work in pushing open educational resources and encouraging the use of school integration as a strategy to improve low-performing schools.
鈥淓verything I鈥檝e done in education has really strung from a commitment to students who are most vulnerable,鈥� King said.
Ed Trust has a history of working with both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, most notably with the No Child Left Behind Act and, most recently, with ESSA. As secretary, King clashed with key Republicans in Congress, including Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the education committee chairman, over ESSA regulations on accountability and spending. Alexander felt that King鈥檚 proposals overstepped the boundaries of the law.
But King doesn鈥檛 expect those past differences to be a roadblock in his new role.
He said he always had 鈥渁 positive relationship鈥� with Alexander and that their conversations were 鈥渃onstructive and thoughtful.鈥� He sees a push by Alexander and others to allow students to use Pell Grants during the summer, and an effort to make over career and technical education programs as two areas on which Ed Trust could partner with Republicans.
Before leaving office, King didn鈥檛 say much about his views on Betsy DeVos, his would-be successor at the Education Department. She is the first education secretary whose confirmation The Education Trust has opposed.
In his interview Wednesday, King said he has 鈥渄eep concerns鈥� about DeVos鈥� understanding of 鈥渒ey areas of the department鈥檚 responsibility,鈥� including when it comes to special education, as well as her 鈥渃ommitment to the work of the office for civil rights and continuing the progress we鈥檝e made.鈥�
He added, 鈥淪peaking as a former secretary, I hope that she will lead in a way that is consistent with the department鈥檚 mission of protecting students鈥� civil rights and advancing equity. ... I hope that if she鈥檚 confirmed she鈥檒l prove those concerns wrong.鈥�
King鈥檚 new role won plaudits from both state and non-profit leaders.
鈥淚 have worked with John King for more than a decade, at the school level, the state level, and the national level,鈥� said John White, Louisiana鈥檚 state chief in a statement. 鈥淭here is not a more informed or compelling advocate for our kids and for our nation鈥檚 potential.鈥�
And Evan Stone, a co-chief executive officer of Educators 4 Excellence, called King 鈥渁n educator鈥檚 educator, who deeply understands the challenges teachers face every day and is committed to finding ever better ways to address those鈥攁ll in the service of kids.鈥�