It’s the end of an era at 400 Maryland Ave. The little red No Child Left Behind schoolhouse out in front of the U.S. Department of Education’s headquarters in the nation’s capital is no more.

It’s no secret that folks in the administration and Congress are very likely to change the name of the federal school improvement law. A key author of the legislation, U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has called it “the most tainted brand in America.” And U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told Michele awhile back that he might seek suggestions for a new name for the law from America’s schoolchildren.

I guess the schoolhouse was necessary collateral damage. The Education Department had it dismantled over the weekend.

Awhile back, the Eduwonk blog held a contest to rename NCLB. So, in that spirit, Politics K-12 is taking any and all suggestions of what the Education Department could put on its front terrace to symbolize that it’s a new era in education policy under President Barack Obama and Duncan. The comments section is ready and waiting.

UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Education just announced today that it will decorate its halls with “larger than life” photos of kids from all around the country participating in the arts and athletics, as well as reading and in classrooms. Sounds to me like the department might be trying to send a message that the federal government cares about more than just the reading and math tests that are central to NCLB. Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it.