Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced late Tuesday that should he win the presidency, he will nominate Miguel Cardona to be education secretary.
Cardona is a former public school teacher and the current education commissioner in Connecticut.
In a statement, Biden said that Cardona is an “an experienced and dedicated public school teacher” who will support students and teachers and ensure that every school is “on track to reopen safely.”
“He will help us address systemic inequities, tackle the mental health crisis in our education system, give educators a well-deserved raise, ease the burden of education debt, and secure high-quality, universal pre-K for every three- and four-year-old in the country,” Biden said.
Democrat Joe Biden speaks at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 22, 2020. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)“As a lifelong champion of public education, he understands that our children are the kite strings that keep our national ambitions aloft—and that everything that will be possible for our country tomorrow will be thanks to the investments we make and the care that our educators and our schools deliver today,” Biden said.
As education commissioner, Cardona earlier this year made Connecticut the first U.S. state to purchase some 141,000 laptops for public school students to facilitate for virtual learning amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
An announcement from the Biden team said that if Biden is confirmed as president, then within the first 100 days of the administration, Cardona will help carry out Biden’s plan to “ensure that every student in the nation can get a high-quality education from pre-K to post-high school, regardless of their zip code, parents’ income, race, sexual orientation and gender identity, or disability.”
The team said that Cardona, as an educator, administrator, and public school parent, has a “proven track record” as a leader who will stand up for all students, which includes seeking to “eliminate long-standing inequities and close racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps” and “expand access to community colleges, training, and public four-year colleges and universities.”
According to an official biography, Cardona began his career as an elementary school teacher. He later served as a school principal in Connecticut for 10 years, before transitioning to the central office of the state’s education department to address the district’s performance and evaluation process. In 2013, he became the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, before being appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont as the state’s education commissioner in August 2019.
Cardona obtained his bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in bilingual/bicultural education and doctorate in education from the University of Connecticut.
He taught four years as an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut in the Department of Educational Leadership. He also served as the co-chairperson of the Connecticut Legislative Achievement Gap Task Force, and as co-chairperson of the Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council.
Focus News: Biden Announces Miguel Cardona as Education Secretary Nominee