Margaret Spellings is actually very funny.
The secretary of education had the honor of presenting the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, and the woman whom philanthropist Eli Broad described as someone who “will take her place in history as one of the all-time great cabinet members” also proved to have a knack for stand-up comedy.
“As many of you know, the Broad prize is like the Oscar of public education,” Spellings deadpanned. “And I guess this makes you a bunch of glitterati.
Then there was the inevitable: “May I have the envelope, please?” (With the aside, “Wish I was dripping with jewels and a fancy dress.”)
And the winner?
“New York City Department of Education!”
Chancellor Joel Klein accepted the award, and, advancing the celebrity theme, said the work of public education “is not glamorous. And maybe there aren’t a lot of glitterati in this audience, like the Oscars.”
Well, maybe not; but it seemed pretty glittery to me. Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the trip down to help accept the award. General Colin Powell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave luncheon speeches. Former Virginia Governor and current candidate for the soon-to-open Virginia Senate seat Mark Warner attended. And a host of other members of Congress spoke, including California Sen. Barbara Boxer; Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee; and Sen. Ted Kennedy, who remarked that “my niece, Caroline [who has a job raising money for the New York City schools] got down here” and “didn’t tell her uncle” about who had won.
All totaled, I counted at least four people who have either run for president or been mentioned at some point as possible contenders. This is, after all, the year before a pretty big election.
The New York schools were lauded for raising the academic performance of low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students. The four other finalists, who also boasted impressive gains among minorities, were: Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut, Long Beach Unified School District in California, Miami-Dade Public Schools, and the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio.
Congratulations to them all.
Lawrence Hardy, Senior Editor