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Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET Friday On Wednesday, lawmakers had some tough questions for Miguel Cardona, President Biden s nominee to be the next U.S. education secretary. The Connecticut educator was asked about student loan debt forgiveness, policies for transgender students and, most critically, how he would help schools reopen as the pandemic rages. Members of the U.S. Senate s education committee didn t have much to go on as they prepared for Cardona s hearing. That s because, along with most of the country, many of those lawmakers are just getting to know him. In a Biden administration full of familiar faces, Cardona is relatively new to the national spotlight. His biggest job to date has been as Connecticut s education commissioner, a role he s filled for just the past year and half. ....
Need to get in touch with us? Contact circulation at circulation [at] record-journal.com× Cardonaâs ideas about education were forged in Meriden. Now heâll bring them to D.C. Cardonaâs ideas about education were forged in Meriden. Now heâll bring them to D.C. Miguel Cardona, principal of Hanover School, eats breakfast and talks about Justain Bieber with third graders Asharia Ray (left) and Dina Hamideh (right) in the school cafeteria in Meriden, April 1, 2011. I enjoy spending time with the students, said Cardona. This is just a happy place to be. (Sarah Nathan/ Record-Journal) Advertisement RJ file photo - Miguel Cardona, first-time teacher, in his fourth-grade classroom at Israel Putnam School, Aug. 25, 1998. ....
From the outside, the Meriden Public Schools system looks like a network of struggling city schools. The state has designated it an Alliance District and one of the “lowest-performing districts” since more than one-quarter of the students are multiple grades behind in English, math and science. It is also an economically isolated district that spends 30 percent less per student than the state average despite three-quarters of its students coming. ....
From the outside, the Meriden Public Schools system looks like a network of struggling city schools. The state has designated it an Alliance District and one of the “lowest-performing districts” since more than one-quarter of the students are multiple grades behind in English, math and science. It is also an economically isolated district that spends 30% less per student than the state average despite three-quarters of its students coming from low-income families. And the school ratings often used in real estate listings don’t look favorably on the district, either. This is where Miguel Cardona President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to become the next U.S. education secretary grew up and spent 21 years of his 23-year career as an educator. And his experiences there his battles and the district’s successes will likely be front-of-mind as he coordinates policy for all the public schools in the country. ....
Copy URL Miguel Cardona remembers how overwhelmed he felt when he walked into school for the first time as a student. The son of parents who moved to Meriden, Conn., from Puerto Rico as children, he lived in public housing and didn’t speak English as a young child. “I remember my first day of kindergarten at John Barry School,” the nominee for U.S. secretary of education said at a virtual farewell celebration with Meriden leaders earlier this month, referring to an elementary school in his home city. “That day, I ended up in the nurse’s office crying, and I had to go home early. I never wanted to go back. Here I am, 40 years later, and I’m having mixed emotions about leaving the place I love.” ....