Federal

Safe-Schools Chief Makes Rare D.C. Appearance

By Ian Quillen — March 16, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Kevin Jennings insists the rarity of a public appearance by him in Washington last week did not mean conservatives’ calls for his resignation had affected his visibility.

Instead, the federal safe-schools chief emphasizes that he’s spent most of his time reaching out to schools and districts well beyond the nation’s capital.

“I don’t speak in D.C. I’m on the road a lot,” Mr. Jennings, the assistant deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education’s office of safe and drug-free schools, said in an interview after a pair of appearances March 8 involving the Close Up program. The four-decade-old program provides students with experiences that foster civics education.

His appearances—lunching with about 50 teachers at the National Press Club and later speaking with about 200 students—were his first Washington engagements publicized by the department since controversy over Mr. Jennings’ appointment flared last October. (“Controversy Still Swirls Around Safe-Schools Chief,” Oct. 28, 2009.)

Mr. Jennings is the founder and former leader of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. His appointment drew outrage, mainly from Republicans, after information resurfaced that, as a teacher more than two decades ago, he learned of a sexual relationship between a teenage student and an older man and did not move to disrupt it.

In his Close Up talk, Mr. Jennings implored teachers to remind students that smaller social changes make bigger ones possible, pointing to the long civil rights struggle that predated Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.

“There were decades and decades and decades of folks who came before Martin Luther King,” he said.

Mr. Jennings, who is openly gay, did not directly address gay-rights issues in his public remarks. In the interview afterward, he said that students know the outcome of the civil rights movement, but that the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people “are not a settled field, so [lecturing about] it wouldn’t have quite the same historical impact.”

A version of this article appeared in the March 17, 2010 edition of Education Week as Safe-Schools Chief Raises D.C. Profile

Events

Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Tech Is Everywhere. But Is It Making Schools Better?
Join us for a lively discussion about the ways that technology is being used to improve schools and how it is falling short.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Ron DeSantis Is Running for President. What Will That Mean for K-12 Schools?
DeSantis has solidified himself as a force on school policy. His campaign will likely influence the role education plays in the election.
6 min read
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during convocation at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Va., on April 14, 2023.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during convocation at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Va., on April 14, 2023.
Paige Dingler/The News & Advance via AP
Federal Cardona Defends Biden's Education Budget and Proposals on Student Debt and Trans Athletes
House Republicans accused Education Secretary Miguel Cardona of indoctrinating students and causing drops in test scores.
4 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during a ceremony honoring the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2023 Teachers of the Year in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 24, 2023, in Washington.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during a ceremony honoring the 2023 Teachers of the Year at the White House on April 24, 2023. He appeared before a U.S. House committee May 16, 2023, to defend the Biden administration's proposed education budget and other policies.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Federal Book Bans and Divisive Concepts Laws Will Hold U.S. Students Back, Secretary Cardona Says
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participated in a summit this week that drew international education leaders to the nation's capital.
6 min read
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona answers questions during an interview in his office in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, August 23, 2022.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona answers questions during an interview in his office in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, August 23, 2022.
Alyssa Schukar for Education Week
Federal Opinion The Lies America Tells Itself About Black Education
'A Nation at Risk' created a faux crisis to usher in the right's education agenda, argues Bettina L. Love.
4 min read
President Ronald Reagan is flanked by Education Secretary Terrel Bell, left, White House Policy director, during a meeting in the Cabinet Room in Washington, Feb. 23, 1984 where they discussed school discipline.
President Ronald Reagan and U.S. Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell, left, during a meeting in the Cabinet Room, Feb. 23, 1984, where they discussed school discipline.
AP