MICHELE NORRIS, host:
The state of Colorado has a new senator. Yesterday, Michael Bennet was sworn in to replace Ken Salazar, who's taken the job of secretary of the Interior. Bennet is 44 years old; he's worked as a lawyer and businessman, and since 2005 as Denver's superintendent of schools. He won national attention for his efforts to turn around the city's most underperforming schools, but he's never been elected to public office. I talked to Mr. Bennet just before he was sworn in, and I asked if he's breaking new ground going from superintendent to senator.
Senator MICHAEL BENNET (Colorado): Somebody told me the other day that the last one was Strom Thurman, who apparently served as an elected superintendent of schools in his home state.
NORRIS: I guess since you're coming to the senate straight from the Denver school system, there is an assumption that schools will top your agenda, that education issues, at least, will top your agenda. Is that true?
Senator BENNET: Well, I'm certainly extremely interested in education reform, but that's only one of a number of issues that I'm going to be working on, and whether or not it's a lead issue will depend a lot, I think, on my committee assignments. But it's certainly the - what I've learned from the teachers and the principals in Denver and across the state is something that I want to carry to the people that will be working here on education.
NORRIS: One of the things that is certain to come up is the reauthorization for No Child Left Behind. For most senators, this is something that they understand largely through reading briefing books. This is something that you've actually lived. Do you agree with many of your Democrats that this is a program that needs to be ended, or is it possibly something that perhaps just needs to be mended? Are there some benefits to the No Child Left Behind program?
Senator BENNET: I'm much more in the mended category than the ended category, and I'll tell you why. The best thing I can say about No Child Left Behind, and I believe this is true, is that it's called the nation's attention to the enormous gaps that exist in this country between kids that are poor and kids that are middle-class. Right now, I think it's too much of a blunt instrument that is focused very much on labeling schools but hasn't given people solutions to be able to make them better. And that's what I think the administration is committed to.
NORRIS: Now, if we listen closely, you might hear the sighs of disappointment from educators all across the country who thought that maybe you, if anyone, would raise sharp questions about No Child Left Behind, people who've been complaining about this for years.
Senator BENNET: I do have very sharp questions. I don't think people in our schools object to external accountability, and I think they see the purpose for it. They're just asking for something that makes sense. And most places across the country right now are comparing apples and oranges, they're asking this question: How did this year's fourth graders do compared to last year's fourth graders? The question we need to be asking is: How did this group of fifth graders do compared to how they did as fourth graders last year? It needs to be much more focused on growth, and I think educators are right to say that many of our kids start very far behind, and we need to find a way to acknowledge the growth that kids have. And it's only if you start to measure like that that we're going to start to see progress.
NORRIS: Michael Bennet, as an appointee, you're in an unusual position. You have been named to fill Senator Ken Salazar's seat, and then you're up for election in 2010. And there are some in your state that are a little bit concerned about this, worried that you'll be, by necessity, trying to build a name and a reputation and a portfolio that will help you run and win in 2010. And the worry is that you might, in some cases, be in a position where you will choose politics over principle.
Senator BENNET: Well, I think that that won't be the case. I'm not surprised that there might be people who hold that view. First of all, if I can be half as good as Senator Ken Salazar, I think we're all going to be just fine. The other thing that I'm doing is trying to make sure that the transition for the people of Colorado is as smooth as possible. That's the most important thing for me to do, is to represent our people well. And I think the politics will take care of themselves.
NORRIS: Yeah, I've talked to Senator Salazar about his frustrations in trying to maintain a connection with his constituents because Colorado is a good distance from Washington, D.C. As someone - as a superintendent who tried hard to maintain a connection with students and teachers, you were known as someone who would visit schools, walk the halls - how do you try to do that, to maintain sort of a personal connection with your constituents when you're here in D.C.?
Senator BENNET: I think it's really important, and I've got to do exactly the same thing here. It is going to be a challenge, but that's work that will never feel to me like wasted time. Every time that I've spent - had a chance to talk to people actually doing the work, I learned from that. We were able to readjust our reform and make it make more sense, and that's what the people of Colorado expect from me. And my hope is that by the time this two years is over, they're so tired of me, they're willing to send me back to Washington.
NORRIS: Michael Bennet, it's been good to talk to you. Thanks so much for making time for us.
Senator BENNET: Thank you. I appreciate it.
NORRIS: That's Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado.