[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/21/art.obamasconf1121.gi.jpg caption="Soon after his historic White House win, President-elect Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended at parent-teacher conference at their daughters' school in Chicago."]
(CNN) – While a candidate, Barack Obama frequently said on the campaign trail that the federal No Child Left Behind law left the money behind. One of Obama’s first educational decisions as President-elect will be his education secretary.
Here’s CNN’s list of possible contenders to head the new administration’s Department of Education:
LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND: This professor of education at Stanford University was also an education policy adviser to Obama’s presidential campaign.
JOEL KLEIN: Klein, a veteran of former President Clinton’s Justice Department and White House Counsel’s Office, is currently the Chancellor of New York City’s public school system.
TOM KEAN: This Republican former governor of New Jersey was also the president of Drew University for 15 years and a member of the federal commission that investigated the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
ARNE DUNCAN: Duncan has local ties to Obama; he’s the CEO of the public school system in Chicago, where Obama’s political career began.
Click here for additional CNN short lists for Obama’s potential cabinet.