Arne Duncan, the secretary of education and a member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet, announced on Friday that he is stepping down at the end of the year.

Duncan, who was a member of Obama’s original cabinet, will be succeeded by Deputy Secretary of Education John King Jr.

King Jr. was New York state’s education commissioner before leaving for the Department of Education in February 2011.

“Arne has done more to bring our educational system — sometimes kicking and screaming — into the 21st century than anybody else,” Obama said on Friday. “America is going to be better off for what he has done.”

Duncan, the ninth Secretary of Education in U.S. history, will have served the second-longest tenure as education secretary after only Richard Riley, who served under Bill Clinton.

“During his time as Secretary, Arne has made almost unprecedented strides in changing the direction of education in this country through his work to improve graduation rates, expand access to community colleges and raise academic standards for students all across the country,” Vice President and Syracuse University alumnus Joe Biden said in a statement.

Duncan, 50, who is the former head of Chicago Public Schools, will return to Chicago, according to The Chicago Tribune.

King Jr., 40, will serve as acting secretary, meaning he will not have to be confirmed by the Senate. While leading New York’s education department, King Jr. pushed for more student testing, which was tied to teacher evaluations as part of the Common Core.

“It is a troubling choice because John King’s tenure in New York was unsuccessful,” said the Alliance for Quality Education in a statement. “He was not open to parent input on issues from improving struggling schools to the use of standardized testing. He probably has done more to inspire opt outs than any person in the country except Andrew Cuomo.”

While some are critical of King Jr.’s past work, the president is not, calling King Jr. “an exceptionally talented educator.”

“He’s been an educator all his life — a teacher, a principal, a leader of schools, the New York state’s education chief,” Obama said of King Jr. “He’s the right man to lead the department.”

Published on October 4, 2015 at 10:17 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306