The Editorial Board at Newsday considers a realignment  of “education warriors,” those who lobby for reform and those who lobby for stasis, as New York’s former State Commissioner of Education John King heads (hopefully) towards confirmation as U.S. Education Secretary.

Now reformers on both sides of the aisle want to maintain the momentum toward higher standards, accountability and better education for poor and minority students. 

So Democrats such as King and Obama are aligned with Republicans like Alexander. They’re opposed by the suburban-led New York State United Teachers, traditionally a Democratic touchstone, which quickly issued a nasty condemnation of King. However, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, a player both in New York City and nationally, spoke positively about King’s first month in charge. 

The education warriors are picking new teams. On one side are those such as King who are fighting for higher standards and more accountability. On the other side are those who continue to defend the status quo, no matter how poorly it works for many kids.