A new secretary of education will lead the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Senate today confirmed career educator Miguel Cardona as President Joe Biden’s education secretary.
Now serving as education commissioner in Connecticut, Cardona is a stark contrast to his predecessor Betsy DeVos, who never taught in a public school, attended one or send her children to any. Cardona is a public school graduate who worked as a fourth-grade teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent in Connecticut. Cardona’s parents are from Puerto Rico. Cardona grew up in in Meriden, Conn., and returned there to launch his education career, eventually becoming one of Connecticut’s youngest school principals.
Unlike DeVos who made school choice a central theme of her tenure as Donald Trump’s education chief, Cardona is expected to refocus resources and attention to public schools reeling from the challenges of COVID-19.
Appointed to the lead job in Connecticut in August of 2019, the 45-year-old Cardona was seven months into his job when the pandemic descended and shuttered schools. Asked last month at a Senate hearing about the path forward for public schools, Cardona said, “We’re going to need more counselors in our schools. We’re going to need to make sure we have summer programming. We’re going to need to make sure we have extended day. If we really want to recover, we really need to invest now or we’re going to pay later.”
The accolades already are piling up.
“We are elated that Dr. Cardona will soon get to work advancing civil rights and equity at the Department of Education, and we can finally turn the page on Secretary DeVos’ agenda of discrimination and exclusion. As a civil rights agency, the department must immediately prioritize removing barriers to equal educational opportunity and ensuring students have the protections they deserve,” said Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
“School closures across the nation have left many students stuck at home, disconnected from their peers and struggling under significant learning loss,” said Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr, R-N.C. “Dr. Cardona has committed to following the science, and has agreed to prioritize bringing students back to the classroom quickly and safely. Dr. Cardona brings with him the background, qualifications, and temperament needed to serve in this position at a very challenging time. I’m glad to be able to support his nomination today, and I look forward to working with him on these important initiatives.”
“From the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic crisis to the systemic racism that has held back too many students for too long — there are compounding challenges that are facing students, educators, families and communities. We look forward to working with Education Secretary Cardona in taking on these challenges together,” said National Education Association President Becky Pringle.
“State education leaders stand ready to work with Secretary Cardona in the important work of addressing the educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Council of Chief State School Officers Chief Executive Officer Carissa Moffat Miller. “As a former state chief, district leader, and classroom teacher dedicated to improving outcomes for historically marginalized student populations, Secretary Cardona has the experience to understand how the federal government can best help states and schools recover from this pandemic, and the background to ensure that recovery is equitable for all students.”
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