As he crisscrosses the nation exploring a possible Presidential run, fixing schools has been Rahm Emanuel’s top issue.
“You cannot be a party that professes an interest in equity and not care about academic failure,” he says.
It’s a stark contrast to other Democratic leaders — and may help the former Chicago mayor and Obama chief of staff win public support.
That hasn’t happen — yet. Emanuel says he feels like he’s Paul Revere “and the doors are locked.”
But, given widespread concerns about schools — and poll numbers suggesting other Democrats have moved too far to the left — Emanuel’s approach could generate outsized support.
“I’m not making a case for choice,” he says about how he thinks about public funding for parents who pick private schools. “I’m making a case for excellence.”
His likely candidacy will test whether his positions — and education writ large — will prove more popular with primary voters than they are within the DNC and among the groups.
Watch the interview or read the transcript above (or on YouTube). Listen to the conversation on Spotify or Apple.
Select quotes:
“We declared as a party that we wanted to bring the school culture wars to schools, and we lost.”
“We know what to do, but the political will has gone out the window.”
“I do wonder whether, appropriately managed, AI can become the individual tutor that children need. I think it offers a promise.”
“Your success in destroying [public school] choice has repercussions. Now you’re against the eight-ball on these other things [vouchers, homeschooling, etc.]”
Previously from The Grade
The Democratic case for private school choice (featuring DFER’s Jorge Elorza)
A New Home for Center-Left Education Politics? (featuring Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Thomas Searcy)
Who killed school reform? (featuring The Lost Decade’s Steven Wilson)
Education journalism’s ‘Sold a Story’ problem
