Two days after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, newly minted Education Secretary Dr. Miguel Cardona joined Dr. Jill Biden on a tour of two public schools as the Biden administration works to reopen schools full time.
The two educators made their first stop at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut, the city where Dr. Cardona grew up and later returned to work as a teacher.
Cardona was raised in a housing project in Meriden, and went through the city’s public schools before returning to work as a fourth-grade teacher in the district in 1998. At age 28, he had become the youngest principal in the state before working his way up to assistant superintendent of the district before becoming the state's education chief.
On Wednesday, the duo met with a group of kindergarteners on their first stop of the day, where the first lady offered up a warm introduction to the students, saying: “It’s so nice to be here. I’m Jill. Hi!”
The first lady asked about the school’s accommodations for special-needs students, and was later given a tour of the school’s sensory processing room serving such a purpose.
Dr. Biden and Dr. Cardona also met with educators at the school who spoke about both the struggles and triumphs of reopening in-person learning amid the coronavirus pandemic. The students have returned to the school in waves, with the first returning to the classroom in August of last year; another wave of students will join the in-classroom learning on March 15, teachers said.
“I think the teachers are doing such a great job in meeting the kids where they are, whether that’s at school or at home,” Dr. Biden said.
Cardona and Biden each delivered a short address after touring the school, where Dr. Biden noted the immense hometown pride Meridians felt for Dr. Cardona, saying their visit “has certainly been a love fest.”
“Educators’ favorite three words are now ‘I love you,’ which of course Joe and I want to say to educators every day,” Dr. Biden said. “But it’s going to be Education Secretary Cardona.”
Cardona said his “top priority” as education secretary will be to ensure that teachers and school workers are vaccinated, adding: “We must continue to reopen America’s schools for in person learning as quickly and as safely as possible. The president recognizes this, which is why he took bold action yesterday to get teachers and school staff vaccinated quickly.”
Biden said Tuesday he is using his federal authority to direct every state to ensure teachers, school staff, and other educators in K-8 schools receive at least one dose of any available coronavirus vaccine by the end of March.
The educators then traveled to Fort LeBoeuf Middle School in Pennsylvania, where they were joined by Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association. A number of parents and school teachers joined the tour as well.
"We've been through really tough hard times but the one good thing about educators that I love is we've all learned from this,” Dr. Biden told the assembled educators.
Parents told Biden and Cardona they appreciated that the school district had sought their opinion about reopening.
After shutting down in March 2020, the school with several hundred students in grades six through eight began welcoming them in-person, on a voluntary basis, starting in early September.
“I love that you have this holistic approach,” Biden said.
She and Cardona also visited a robotics class at the middle school and a class for students who need or want a little extra push.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump waved flags bearing his name and held their thumbs upside down as Biden‘s motorcade rolled away from the school. Abortion protesters held signs that said “Protect Every Child” and “Abortion is not health care.”
Cardona received widespread bipartisan support for his nomination, with over a dozen GOP senators voted in favor of Cardona’s confirmation, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
"To America's students and parents, as secretary of education I'm always going to have your perspective at the table," Cardona said in a video message posted after his confirmation. "I'm going to be listening. I want to do everything in my power to make sure that every decision that's made at the agency not only by me, but by everyone that we work with, is centered on what's best for you."
The tour came as the Biden administration focuses on reopening schools.
Cardona was appointed to the top education post in Connecticut just months before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March. When schools moved to remote learning, he hurried to deliver more than 100,000 laptops to students across the state. Since then, however, he has increasingly pressed schools to reopen, saying it’s harmful to keep students at home.
In an op-ed for USA Today, Dr. Cardona laid out his five-point plan for reopening schools, calling the pandemic "the biggest and most complex challenge our education system has experienced."
Dr. Cardona's plan includes convening experts at a national Department of Education summit, sharing best practices about what is working at schools nationwide, updating the Education Department's COVID-19 handbook, "collect better data about how schools are operating during the pandemic," and utilize funding from Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to fund measures such as potentially reducing class sizes and hiring more teachers, adjusting food service and transportation for physical distancing, and addressing "the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of students, during and after the pandemic."
"The disruption in school has taken the heaviest toll on students of color, students from families with low-incomes, English learners, students in rural communities, and students with disabilities — impacting their social, emotional and mental health, and academic well-being," Cardona wrote.
"We must continue to reopen America’s schools for in-person learning as quickly and safely as possible. As Secretary of Education, this is my top priority," he added.
Biden said Tuesday he is using his federal authority to direct every state to ensure teachers, school staff, and other educators in K-8 schools receive at least one dose of any available coronavirus vaccine by the end of March.
"Let's treat in-person learning like the essential service that it is,” Biden said Tuesday. “And that means getting … educators, school staff, childcare workers, and get them vaccinated immediately. They’re essential workers.”
The push will come with support from the federal pharmacy program; teachers and other school workers will be able to go to a number of local pharmacies in order to sign up for their vaccine appointment. While not every K-8 worker will be able to get their appointment in the first week after the president’s mandate, Biden said he hopes his directive will encourage states and providers to prioritize the group.
States are largely allowed to decide who gets the vaccines when, and many have included teachers in priority groups. As of Biden’s announcement on Tuesday, several states — including Montana, Texas, and Rhode Island — did not include educators or school staff in any vaccine priority group.
Biden has long pledged to open the majority of K-8 schools across the country by the end of his first 100 days in office, but his administration has offered conflicting guidance on the issue.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.