Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits Lincoln

Sept. 14, 2017, 5:07 a.m. ·

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U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos answers questions at Lincoln's Zoo School (Photo by Fred Knapp, NET News)

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U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visited Lincoln Thursday, touring -- and talking about -- schools.


Thursday morning, DeVos visited St. Mary’s Catholic school. In the afternoon, it was on to Lincoln Public Schools’ science-focused Zoo School. There, she asked students “What do you think has been particularly outstanding about this school versus any other that you might go to? “I like that it’s smaller,” replied Lindsey Dietrich. The specialized high school has about 100 students. “This is a school where we get to explore what makes us individually passionate,” added Ruben Erickson.

DeVos’s tour occurs against a background of concern she’ll try to divert money from public education toward vouchers or charter schools. Across the street from the school, homeowner Sue Goodson planted yard signs supporting public schools. Goodson said she has no problems with alternatives. However, she added “In Nebraska, we have half the state that can barely afford – to hear the taxpayers tell it – for the school that’s in their district.”

Demonstrators protest Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos outside Lincoln's Zoo School (Photo by Brian Seifferlein, NET)

Nebraska does not authorize charter schools, and DeVos insisted she wasn’t in the state to advocate for them. “I’m an advocate for parents and students being able to choose the right education setting for them – for the students themselves. And it’s really up to states and it’s really up to communities to make a decision on what that looks like and how that happens,” she said.

Asked about diverting public resources, DeVos sought to reframe the question. “I think if we really spent our time talking about how we’re going to meet individual students’ needs, and spent less time talking about systems and buildings, we’d probably have a really constructive conversation about that,” she said.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt said later he was “somewhat reassured” by DeVos’s comments.