DeVos gets WH cold shoulder

Education secretary had uncomfortable television interviews

WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos got a less than ringing endorsement from the White House on Monday after a pair of uncomfortable television interviews raised questions about her commitment to help underperforming schools and support for President Donald Trump’s proposal to curb school violence.

Less than a day after DeVos was appointed to chair a federal commission on school safety, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders downplayed DeVos’ role in the process. Asked whether DeVos would be the face of the commission, Sanders said, “I think that the president is going to be the lead on school safety when it comes to this administration.”

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday night, DeVos said years of federal investment in public education had produced “zero results” and that American schools were stagnating and failing many students. But asked by CBS’ Lesley Stahl whether she had visited low-performing schools to understand their needs, DeVos, an ardent proponent of school choice, admitted to having visited none.

DeVos’ spokeswoman Liz Hill said that the secretary’s focus was on promoting successful innovation, including in traditional public schools.

“The secretary has been very intentional about visiting and highlighting high performing, innovative schools across the country,” Hill told The Associated Press in a statement. DeVos took to Twitter to defend her comments.