Obama’s Education Policy Working Group was announced at the start of a long Thanksgiving weekend, rounding out his team of education advisers for the transition. To reformers it might have seemed like a corporation releasing financial records after the closing bell on a Friday. The working group’s main focus will be to “develop the priority policy proposals and plans from the Obama Campaign for action during the Obama-Biden Administration.”

During one of three press conferences introducing his proposed economic team last week, the President-elect spoke to the importance of a diversity of opinion and background in determining policy, saying in effect that change will come to Washington only when Beltway groupthink is taken out of the equation. (Dare we hope that equal importance is placed on the announcement of the next Secretary of Education?)

A policy team of whom two thirds have D.C. government postings on their resume doesn’t count as groupthink? Obama made charter schools and other reform-based models the centerpiece of many of his education speeches during the campaign. If the Policy Working Group is to develop the ideas put forth on the trail, does a team of university researchers and union officials without a shred of support for real reform bode well for our children in the coming administration?

Some never dreamed when he spoke of change that he was talking about changing the positive progress education reform has made for children in ways that could undo years of impactful innovations.

(Sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas):
During the second week of transition, Obama gave to thee:
Four Berkeley lawyers,
Three Clinton holdovers,
Two union operatives,
and a severely status quo team for DOE.

All that talk about reform. We kept saying people are policy. A look at the latest education transition team members is telling on that score. They come from the traditional, Kozol-esque education perspective that relies on well-intentioned government programs and court decisions to force schools to do good, rather than accountability and power in the hands of educators and parents to create good. The Berkeley bent which embraces the old civil rights agenda (top down) not the new one (bottom up) is apparent in most of these, the Obama Education Transition Team members.

Joan Baratz Snowden

This former Director of Educational Issues for the AFT believes we should consider performance based pay systems but only with teacher buy-in (i.e. unions). Meanwhile, Rome is burning while Nero fiddles…

Maria Blanco

Directs with Professor Chris Edley the Berkeley based research unit that is heavily oriented toward financial and top down solutions to equity issues (i.e. desegregation) rather than power solutions (ie. choice)

Juliet Garcia

As President of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Higher Ed is her specialty, financial assistance her focus. Served on a Carnegie Foundation council that pushes the same.

Eugene Garcia

His Arizona State University Ed Dept gave us the group we affectionately call the “don’t worry be happy” education crowd; Berliner, et al who have tried to convince us we have a “manufactured crisis” in education. Tell that to the 50% of illiterate students we have.

Goodwin Liu

Another Berkeley scholar, Liu’s specialty is affirmative action; he’s for it. And he co-chairs for the same Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity where Blanco works.

Ann O’Leary

Yet another Berkeley adviser (this makes four if you include the unofficial Chris Edley) and Center for American Progress fellow, O’Leary cut her teeth advocating for social services for the poor in CA state retirement, welfare and health care.

John Polidori

Jack Polidori is a union guy. He’s Director of Legislation & Political Organizing for the Delaware State Education Association with a long history advising teachers’ unions in Maryland, North Carolina and Massachusetts.

Jonathan Schnur

Finally, the token reformer…sort of. Schnur has been a friend of charter schools through his New Leaders for New Schools principal placements, but he’s outgunned in this totally status quo transition team.

Jon Weintraub

Another Clinton-ista, Weintraub once served in the Peace Corps, worked on the Hill and contributed money to Hillary’s campaign.