U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona laid out his vision for education in America on Thursday, January 27, as students and educators grapple with the continued challenges of the coronavirus. Cardona held a press conference to discuss what the education system should look like for students now and in the future.
Secretary Cardona outlined several strategies to assist educators, students, and school communities in tackling the most serious areas of concern, including loss of class time, students’ mental health, the investment of education, and historical inequities.
“Reopening schools—and keeping them open—while critical, is insufficient. Our hardest and most important work lies ahead,” said Secretary Cardona in the address.
Secretary Cardona spoke about the strides the current administration has made to reopen schools with the help of the Department of Education, the CDC, and the American Rescue Plan, which worked in tandem to get schools the testing supplies needed to open schools back up to ninety-six percent.
Cardona addressed four core areas of concentration for the Department of Education to meet its goals in the coming weeks and years.
- In supporting students through the pandemic response and recovery, Cardona encourages families to become partners with educators by addressing missed class instruction with intensive tutoring to catch students up academically and prevent them from further falling behind in their education. The education community will also address mental health and provide access to programs that support overall emotional and mental health.
- Boldly address historical opportunity and achievement gaps. Cardona proposed reaching this goal through increased funding of Title I and IDEA schools to close educational opportunity gaps, free universal pre-K so every child will start on a level playing field, and offering high-quality and affordable childcare. The plan included investing, recruiting, and supporting the professional development of a diverse workforce providing special education, paraprofessionals, and bilingual educators to lead instruction. States and districts are encouraged to face the challenge of fixing broken systems that breed inequalities within schools.
- Higher education should be affordable and hold institutions accountable for taking advantage of borrowers. Cardona calls for ways to make it easier for borrowers to pay back loans with plans that reflect their financial circumstances. His plan calls for improvements to programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and creating a Gainful Employment Rule where students can obtain good-paying careers without having mountains of debt.
- Ensure pathways to higher education that will lead to successful careers, starting with reimagining the connection between pre-k through twelfth grades, higher education, and the workforce—making it a priority to increase grants and create career programs for those who want to continue their education. Invest in colleges and universities that represent underserved communities and increase funding and access for Pell Grants.
“Our students’ success is at stake,” says Cardona. “Not just the students we serve today, but for those who have yet to be born. Our task is not only to improve our education system from where it was before the pandemic but also to take bolder action to elevate it to lead the world.”
