Betsy DeVos was confirmed as United States Secretary of Education on Feb. 7, 2017 after a historical tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Mike Pence.

Elizabeth “Betsy” DeVos’ new job of Education Secretary is much different than her previous profession. Before adding 11th U.S. Secretary of Education to her resume, DeVos was chairwoman of the Windquest Group, a private group that invests in technology. In fact DeVos had no previous experience in the education field, other than that she herself received an education. Her lack of perspective leaves LHS teacher Lynn Thomason anxious in light of the responsibilities DeVos will have on her shoulders.

“I just don’t think she has the perspective she needs on education,”  said Thomason. “Every time she opens her mouth she has to clarify or take back a statement because she doesn’t have the right perspective. She has a very limited background of education, a very limited perspective.”

DeVos has a plan of privatization of education. This plan includes school vouchers, where student can use public funding to attend private schools. This allows for greater school choice and may help students gain a better education. This also creates competition between private and public schools, pushing them to provide the best educational experiences for the students as possible, in order to gain more attendees, and thus more funding.

“I am disappointed but yet I try to remain hopeful [about DeVos’ confirmation],” said Thomason. “[She will have] hopefully very little [impact] because most education is run by the states.”