POLITICO
Biden chooses Connecticut education commissioner for top schools post
Miguel Cardona will be tested on his ability to unify opposing sides in the debate over reopening schools.
Miguel Cardona’s selection fulfills President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign promise to name an educator with public school experience as his Education secretary. | Neag School of Education/UConn – Ryan Glista
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President-elect Joe Biden selected Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona to be his Education secretary on Tuesday, adding another Latino to his roster of Cabinet appointees and choosing a leader who has pressed schools to remain open for in-person classes during the pandemic..
Democrats press to open schools across the US as pandemic surges
In line with President-elect Joe Biden’s stated aim to reopen America’s schools during the first weeks of his administration, Democratic mayors and governors across the US are moving to resume in-person teaching in large urban school districts even as new infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 continue to reach new highs.
After the restart of in-person learning in New York City the country’s largest school district last month, Democratic officials in Washington state; Portland, Oregon; Chicago; Washington, DC; Oakland, California, and other big cities are working with teachers unions to resume face-to-face schooling as early as mid-January, despite widespread opposition from rank-and-file educators and parents.
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Dr. Miguel Cardona.
One of President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign promises included naming a teacher as the next Secretary of Education.
Several names immediately came up including the New York-based Randi Weingarten, President of American Federation of Teachers and Lily Eskelsen García, former President of the National Education Association. But another area educator is also a contender.
Dr. Miguel Cardona is another name on Biden’s shortlist. Cardona’s parents are originally from Puerto Rico and he grew up in public housing in Meriden, Connecticut. He calls education, “the great equalizer.”
Cardona only spoke Spanish when he first entered school. After graduating from Central Connecticut State University, he started teaching fourth grade. Later in his career, he was named the 2012 Connecticut Association of Schools “National Distinguished Principal.” Since 2019, he has served the Connecticut Commissioner of the Department of Educ