Sec. Duncan amplifies King’s comments on segregation in city schools

That’s from a speech U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made to a room full of education journalists this afternoon (including the whole Chalkbeat team) at the Education Writers Association conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Duncan focused his remarks on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and tied the continued push to implement tougher standards and increase accountability for teachers and schools to the need to address continued school segregation.

“Without accountability—without a straightforward system of knowing which students are learning—we cannot fulfill the promise of Brown,” he said.

New York State Education Commissioner John King hit similar notes in a speech last week marking the 60th anniversary of Brown, in which he was critical of New York City’s enrollment policies.

“There are places where you can look, including New York City, where blocks away students are separated by economic status,” King said. “Schools that serve mostly wealthy students blocks away from schools that serve mostly high-needs students, and we know that that segregation breeds inequality.”

You can read Duncan’s full speech here.