(Host) The U.S. Secretary of Education says national standards are needed in the nation's schools, and teachers need more time to focus on kids.

Arne Duncan was in Vermont on Thursday to deliver a commencement address and to tour local schools. And in a Burlington elementary school, Duncan also spent time with some local students.

VPR's John Dillon has more:

(Dillon) In a crowded lunch line at the Lawrence Barnes Elementary School in Burlington, Education Secretary Duncan found himself being grilled by fourth- and fifth-grade students.

(Student) "Did you vote for Obama?"

(Duncan) "Did I vote for Obama? I did! Thank goodness, I would be in big trouble if I didn't."

(Student) "How long have you known Obama?"

(Duncan) "I've probably known him for about 10 years or so. His wife is from Chicago. So I knew his wife and his wife's brother is one of my good friends for a long, long time."

(Dillon) President Obama and Arne Duncan are basketball buddies, as well. Duncan played college ball at Harvard, then spent four years on a pro team in Australia, before returning to work in education in Chicago.

And the president has passed the 44-year-old Duncan an ambitious agenda. The federal government plans to spend $100 billion on public schools and higher education as part of the stimulus package. That much money - plus the ear of the president - gives Duncan unusual influence.

So Duncan says he's traveling to at least 15 states to learn what works and what doesn't in schools around the country.

(Duncan) "One thing that's been resonating with teachers and principals is this idea of having of sort of common college-ready, career-ready internationally benchmarked standards. This idea of having 50 states do their own thing - teachers see that doesn't make sense."

(Dillon) And he says teachers tell him they want more time in the classroom with students.

(Duncan) "Basically, our students are being out-competed now and are at a competitive disadvantage relative to children in other countries. So whether it's a longer day, whether it's a longer week, whether it's a longer year, I think we need to be really creative in how we use time."

(Dillon) Duncan is also re-evaluating the No Child Left Behind Act, the education reform bill passed with bipartisan support in the early days of the Bush administration. The act requires schools to reach performance standards. But it's been criticized for being too rigid.

Secretary Duncan wasn't specific about the changes he'd like in the law. But Burlington School Superintendent Jeanne Collins wants the act to focus more on the individual student. Burlington schools have a diverse population -- 52 nationalities are represented - and Collins says the act's requirement to measure one class to the next may not take into account the changing student population.

(Collins) "Currently, the model says we're comparing this year's fourth grade to last year's fourth grade. Demographics could be very different. So you go up and down, willy nilly, it doesn't make sense. But if we're comparing how Johnny did in fourth grade to how Johnny did in fifth grade, that's I think is more important data to say are we really making a difference in the lives of kids." 

(Dillon) And that message is one of many that Secretary Duncan will have to sift through as he completes his nationwide tour on education reform.

For VPR News, I'm John Dillon in Burlington.