President-elect Joe Biden announced late Tuesday that he is nominating Miguel Cardona to serve as the Secretary of Education in his Cabinet.
Cardona is a former public school classroom teacher and the current Connecticut Education Commissioner. If confirmed, he will be a key part of Biden’s plan for all students to 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.
“In Miguel Cardona, America will have an experienced and dedicated public school teacher leading the way at the Department of Education — ensuring that every student is equipped to thrive in the economy of the future, that every educator has the resources they need to do their jobs with dignity and success, and that every school is on track to reopen safely,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
The President-elect continued, “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 went on to say Cardona is a “lifelong champion of public education” who “understands that our children are the kite strings that keep our national ambitions aloft.”
Cardona became the first Latino to serve as Education Commissioner of Connecticut and is a former fourth-grade public school teacher who became the youngest principal in his state. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shutting down schools across the country, Cardona helped make Connecticut the first state in the nation to ensure all public school students has a laptop and a high-speed internet connection to participate in remote and virtual learning.
“Miguel will help make sure all of our students have the knowledge and skills to thrive in a 21st century economy,” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said in a statement. “And I look forward to working alongside him to help every child reach their God-given potential.”
Cardona also served as the Co-Chairperson on the Connecticut Legislative Achievement Gap Task Force and the Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council.
