Memoirs of a Deputy Secretary

Hickok Plans a Book With His Observations on the No Child Left Behind Act

Since leaving the No. 2 position at the Department of Education in January, Eugene W. Hickok has been hunkered down writing in his Carlisle, Pa., home.

Mr. Hickok is working on a book about the federal No Child Left Behind Act. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how the law was crafted and how its implementation has unfolded.

“I was sort of in the perfect position to write this, as a former state chief and school board member, and sitting where I was at the department overseeing implementation of the law,” said Mr. Hickok, who had previously served as Pennsylvania’s secretary of education and on the board of the 4,800-student...