Who is Miguel Cardona?

Miguel Cardona, Ed.D. is president-elect Biden’s nominee to run the Department of Education. He’s currently the education commissioner of Connecticut. Prior to that role, he was an assistant superintendent, elementary principal and elementary teacher. His dissertation, “Sharpening the Focus of Political Will to Address Achievement Disparities,” addresses how educational leaders can develop the “political will” to address inequities for English language learners. On being “the first” in several of his roles, he notes that “Despite being the only Latino in many of my college preparation high school classes and throughout my college courses, my ability to develop dual consciousness while staying true to who I am only helped me build confidence.”  

What are his stances?

Due to the nature of the role, it’s best to consider what Biden has stated his visions for K-12 education are. Surprisingly, Biden’s K-12 policy agenda was rather robust. I’ll skip some of the obvious points (more funding for K-12 schools) and avoid talking about the higher education policy (more on that below) and pre-K. Here’s some of the “big” ideas in the Biden plan and where Dr. Cardona aligns:

Note: Policies relating to funding mostly rely on control of the Senate (in other words, what happens in Georgia on January 5th).

What’s my read?

He’s a pretty solid pick given who nominated him. However, his urging to “re-open” schools is one of the reasons he landed at the top of Biden’s list. That fact brings me a lot of mixed feelings, including significant pause. The decision to “re-open” schools will largely be a state and district decision, so that push at a federal level could mean Dr. Cardona spends significant time speaking to K-12 educators to outline the administration’s approach to the vaccine, funding, and flexibility in terms of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Ultimately, I’m moderately happy with this selection. We elected Joe Biden, not Julián Castro, Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren (all to my dismay). The chances of us getting someone who aligns closer to my own views were slim to begin with. However, Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick would’ve been stellar. Dr. Cardona can venture into talks about the importance of education in terms of “jobs of the future,” which is nauseating. In that sense, he’s very much what you’d expect from a Biden administration.

In his current role, he’s advocated for successful efforts to increase funding for public libraries during COVID and make Connecticut the first state to make Black and Latino studies part of secondary curriculum. He understands that the curriculum schools enact has an impact on how students feel included and affirmed or excluded and maligned (I wish he would’ve cited Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop). He’s also connected alienating, whitewashed curriculum to the glaring whiteness of the teaching profession. This summer he made the following statement in response to protests against anti-Black racism:  

“If we are to prepare our students to become productive members of a diverse society who embrace diversity and foster school communities in which all members feel valued, respected and safe, remaining silent on these current events is not an option. As adults and educators, we must be proactive about making this a teachable moment by addressing issues of racism and inequity head-on. It starts with ensuring children and teenagers know their schools are safe places to learn and grow. It involves providing age-appropriate information to allow them to cope with and form an understanding of upsetting current events as well as asking what they may understand already about the situation and, just as importantly, listening to their perspectives.”

These signs are all good.      

Overall, he’s more than just “well at least it’s not Betsy DeVos!” He’s a far superior pick than Arne Duncan was back in 2009. The DeVos years have warped most Americans' sense of what the role does (DeVos leaves office as the most unpopular member of the Trump cabinet). Dr. Cardona is a qualified, experienced educator with a commendable moral compass who knows how to run a bureaucracy.

His experience and life story (both of which will factor in the confirmation hearings) will result in him easily being confirmed, even by a GOP-controlled Senate. My prediction is he gets north of 60 “yes” votes for confirmation.    

What should I keep in mind?

First, you should be reading Adria Watson of the CT Mirror. Her reporting on education in Connecticut has been vital in understanding who Dr. Cardona is and what he’s done in his position.

Second, the title of Secretary of Education belies the actual role to some degree. The department does not have that much power in terms of K-12 policy, which is largely a state matter. The role can be a public face for educators, lobby for important legislation, and oversee important civil rights issues. Given the K-12 focus of Dr. Cardona, I would pay attention to who gets to run the relevant higher education divisions, especially with talks of student debt cancellation rising. I’m curious to see who gets tapped to be the Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights (would love for attorney Bob Kim to get this role). DeVos did a lot of harm, but due to the nature of the role that harm can largely be overturned via executive action and departmental memos.

Finally, for every ounce of energy you put into learning about the US Secretary of Education you should put in three times as much energy into studying your local school board, which is the real place K-12 policy gets made.