New Education Secretary Arne Duncan Announced

President Elect Barack Obama just named his Education Secretary -- longtime friend and fellow Harvard alum Arne Duncan, who headed the Chicago public school system. He has a reputation as an educational reformer, and will be very strong for our country as part of the strengthening of student math and reading skills as an educational trend in the New Year, a topic I cover on my website http://www.roccobasile.net/.

Duncan was responsible for closing then reopening and improving a once failing school known as the Dodge Renaissance Academy on the West side of Chicago. Now 79.4 percent of their students meet or exceed state goals; in reading, 69.7 percent of the students meet or exceed the goals.

Focus to attention is what most students need to improve their skills in reading and math. We know this from the work being done at Childrenofthecity.org, in Brooklyn, New York. This charity recently rallied together over 100 volunteers to distribute free Thanksgiving meals to needy families at their facility on Sunday November 23, 2008, feeding over 700 adults and children. 119 families in all came to Children of the City and received a Thanksgiving meal which included a 25-lb box of food to feed a family of 6 and either a ham or turkey.


“One in five people standing in line at a soup kitchen this Thanksgiving was a child. 1 in 4 children right here in New York City live in poverty” said the organization's Joyce Mattera, Executive Director and Founder.

--Rocco Basile