{"id":13926,"date":"2021-01-04T09:56:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T14:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/?post_type=news_post&p=13926"},"modified":"2021-01-04T09:56:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T14:56:50","slug":"statement-on-nomination-of-miguel-cardona-for-u-s-secretary-of-education","status":"publish","type":"news_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/news\/statement-on-nomination-of-miguel-cardona-for-u-s-secretary-of-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement on Nomination of Miguel Cardona for U.S. Secretary of Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
Washington, D.C., (January 4, 2021)\u2014Susan Patrick, President and CEO of the Aurora Institute, issued the following statement on the nomination of Dr. Miguel A. Cardona as the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Aurora Institute congratulates Dr. Miguel A. Cardona<\/a> on his historic nomination to serve as the next Secretary of Education. Dr. Cardona has a distinguished history as a strong advocate for educational equity, and his professional and personal commitment to the future success of all children makes us optimistic for the road ahead. We pledge our best efforts to support the incoming administration in what will inevitably be a challenging year of re-opening and recovery, restoring hope, expanding opportunity, and transforming education.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Cardona currently serves as the Education Commissioner in Connecticut, where he has led the state\u2019s successful reopening of schools, while narrowing a stark digital divide in service to reducing learning loss among students living in low-income households. Dr. Cardona is a former public school teacher, Principal of the Year, and assistant superintendent, as well as a first-generation college graduate.<\/p>\n The next Secretary of Education will be tasked not only with bringing the nation\u2019s elementary, secondary, and higher education systems back from the pandemic\u2019s disruption and resolving the considerable damage, but also with boosting federal funding for schools and enabling conditions for public schools to thrive by producing students equipped for \u201cthe economy of the future,\u201d as President-elect Joe Biden noted<\/a>. This work includes addressing systemic inequities and modernizing and diversifying the educator workforce.<\/p>\n Because of his lifetime commitment to education and his depth of experience for leading through the kinds of change we need, the Aurora Institute is pleased with Dr. Cardona\u2019s nomination. We look forward to collaborating with the new administration to create a vision of what\u2019s possible with K-12 education. The monumental work required to help school systems rebound from the pandemic, as well as the high-stakes political processes through which this work will be accomplished, means the next Secretary will face the most urgent crises our education system has faced in many decades. We urge Dr. Cardona and other members of the Biden Administration to consider a holistic, student-centric approach on our road to recovery, one that increases access to quality teacher preparation programs, diversifies the teacher workforce, fosters balanced systems of assessments, invests in college preparation programs, and frees states from burdensome rules that prevent them from establishing future-focused, anytime, anywhere learning experiences.<\/p>\n Education is at a critical juncture. With unprecedented local and state revenue shortfalls, widening racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps, an ever-pressing digital divide, and a massive racial awakening spurred by the ongoing murders of innocent Black people, the time is evergreen to implement lasting changes to the methods with which we educate and serve our nation\u2019s learners. It is our belief that high-quality design and implementation of student-centered policies are effective approaches to support the racial and social justice outcomes that President-elect Biden has committed to achieving.<\/p>\n Our goal, which we believe Dr. Cardona and President-elect Biden share, is to help states and localities administer a transcendent education system that prepares all graduates with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to achieve success and advance our society. It will take strong leadership, such as that already exhibited by Dr. Cardona in Connecticut, to make this happen.<\/p>\n The Aurora Institute stands ready to support the federal ecosystem that administers the programs and services needed for all students and communities to prosper.<\/p>\n For comment, contact:<\/p>\n Fred A. Jones, Jr., Policy Director<\/p>\n