蜜桃影视

Cindy Marten, the Biden administration鈥檚 pick for deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, faces a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday amid uncommon pushback for one nominated to the number two spot.

Like Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Marten would bring local school- and district-level experience to the department. But the hearing comes after weeks of mounting opposition to her nomination from parents and advocates that has spread from local groups to national organizations. Complaints include discipline disparities in her California district of San Diego Unified as well as Marten鈥檚 handling of requests.

Scheduled for the same day as Cardona鈥檚 Safe School Reopening Summit, the hearing also draws attention to the fact that Marten鈥檚 district hasn鈥檛 reopened, even though several in San Diego County have. The district is scheduled to bring students back in a hybrid schedule in mid-April, but some districts, such as the Cajon Valley Union schools, have been mostly open since September.

鈥淲e were hopeful when she was nominated to this team, it would [speed up reopening] for us here locally, but our kids are not in school,鈥� said Emily Diaz, a parent involved in , which advocates for more in-person learning. 鈥淭here is this targeted date, but it hangs on all these contingencies.鈥�

Reopening is just one topic that might surface during questions from the Senate education committee. Cardona鈥檚 nomination was largely well received among unions, charter school supporters and advocacy groups 鈥� and his Senate hearing was mostly congenial.

But the prospect of Marten as second-in-charge stirred controversy from the start. It鈥檚 unclear, however, whether opposition from parent groups would be enough for any Democrats to object to her confirmation.

鈥淚t seems like folks are still figuring out where they stand on her nomination,鈥� said Julia Martin, legislative director of Brustein and Manasevit, a Washington-based education law firm.

Meanwhile, organizations such as the National Parents Union, with its hashtag, has made its position clear. It produced featuring San Diego parents who don鈥檛 want to see Marten at the department.

One of those is Tasha Williamson, a former San Diego mayoral candidate and mother of a special education student. Williamson has watched Marten鈥檚 career since she served as a successful principal at Central Elementary, a low-income school in the City Heights neighborhood.

鈥淪he was calm and considerate. She thought about her students,鈥� Williamson said. 鈥淲hen she became superintendent, she somehow got lost.鈥�

Williamson noted low performance at the city鈥檚 Lincoln High School and concerns that the district didn鈥檛 act quick enough sexual abuse of a student by a teacher.

The district did not respond to requests for comment.

鈥楢 working relationship with unions鈥�

Others who worked with Marten since her days as principal said she has skillfully navigated the politics of running a district in a state with strong unions and the most charter schools in the country.

Ian Pumpian, a professor emeritus in educational leadership at San Diego State University and CEO of Health Sciences High School and Middle College, a charter school, said he saw 鈥渘o evidence鈥� that her relationship with the union affected her ability to collaborate with charter leaders.

鈥淭here is no possible way a superintendent of a large school district can be effective in managing and leading schools without establishing a working relationship with unions,鈥� Pumpian said, 鈥渁nd she has done that effectively.鈥�

Some charter advocates note that she has aligned herself with the union鈥檚 position on limiting charter growth, but to a high-performing charter school in San Diego, High Tech High.

鈥淭hat her son attended a charter school means she is willing to deny other parents the school choice she readily took advantage of for her own child. That鈥檚 hypocritical.鈥� said Margaret Fortune, who leads a network of nine charter schools in California serving mostly Black students and served with Marten on a charter school task force in 2019.

Organizations such as the National Parent Union support charter schools and receive funding from foundations supporting choice and homeschooling. Even though critics are concerned about Marten鈥檚 views on charters, the district notes that the majority have been renewed over the past seven years.

鈥淚f she is confirmed, there will be a significant amount of work to do to earn the trust of parents and grandparents like us, who are fighting every day for fairness on behalf of children nationwide,鈥� reads a statement from the Powerful Parent Movement, another advocacy organization.

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