US president-elect Joe Biden has selected Miguel Cardona, a public schools proponent of Connecticut, as secretary of education. Biden fulfilled a campaign pledge to choose a teacher for the post.
About Miguel Cardona
According to Reuters, Cardona is a veteran teacher and school administrator. He is also the commissioner for education of Connecticut. Cardona had started his career as an elementary school teacher. He became the assistant superintendent of Meriden School in early 2019, soon becoming the state schools chief.
According to the Connecticut Mirror, Cardona was often the only Latino in his college prep classes. He got distinguished as the youngest school principal of Connecticut at the age of 28.
Cardona is an exemplary figure in the education world. He has shown his tenacity to manage heated conflicts over resources, testing and privatization. His profile matches other Biden nominees. They all appreciate the dignity of work and the prospect of upward mobility.
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Diverse Cabinet
Hailing from a Puerto Rican background, he would be the third Latino to be placed in the Cabinet. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus had promoted his candidacy for the post.
In line with his promise to appoint a diversely ethnic team, Biden had named other people as well. He nominated California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Mexican-American, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas is to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Biden is set to introduce Cardona today at an event in Wilmington, Delaware. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris stated that Cardona will help “build a public education system that lifts up all Americans, regardless of race, background or ZIP code.”
COVID-19 Efforts
Cardona has pushed against several odds to reopen campuses during the pandemic. He harbored the strong belief that public schools are essential for children from low-income and marginalized communities. “Public education is still the great equalizer,” he said.
He has also worked on giving access to digital devices and reliable internet connection to students. Connecticut became the first state to achieve this. Cardona announced, “We are now leading the nation in removing the tech barriers that stood in the way of every child receiving a world-class education.”
Biden has called for public schools to resume offline classes within his first 100 days in office. He has promised to aid struggling public schools with funding, new infrastructure, more social workers and psychologists and education programs.
Other Responsibilities
Cardona will be in charge of handling sexual assault reports in colleges and universities. He will aid the partisan fight over how educational institutions are to handle such cases.
Betsy DeVos, the education secretary of the Trump administration had scrapped the Title IX victims’ rights measures. Biden has promised to revive this to alleviate cases of sexual discrimination in educational institutions.
Dr. Miguel Cardona has been nominated by the president-elect to lead the Department of Education.
As a former public school teacher, he will lead the effort to invest in all students, support educators, and make reopening schools a national priority. https://t.co/mc1eq3WpbK
— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) December 23, 2020
