Doesn’t that whet your academic appetite?
I decided to dig into the public school system in Connecticut to see how our current Secretary of Education Miguel Angel Cardona handled the job in his home state before he was hired by the Biden administration.
As the Connecticut Commissioner of Education, Cordona served from 2019 until 2021.
Cardona was brought to the attention of Biden by Linda Darling-Hammond, the leader of the transition’s education secretary search efforts, a role she also filled for Barack Obama in 2008. Darling-Hammond and Cardona had worked together on numerous projects.[12] Politico noted that “Hispanic lawmakers are stressing in particular the need for a Latina to join the administration.”[20]
In August 2019, the Governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont (D), designated Secretary Cardona as the Commissioner of Education in the state. Secretary Cardona’s appointment stirred up controversy, as the initial proposal was offered to Bloomfield Superintendent James Thompson. Nevertheless, negotiations regarding salary ultimately led to the breakdown of the agreement. In his capacity as Education Commissioner, Secretary Cardona placed a strong emphasis on rectifying perceived educational inequities among different racial groups. He emphasized that the absence of English as a second language instruction in schools had placed ethnic minority students at a considerable disadvantage.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary Cardona spearheaded significant transformations in Connecticut’s educational policies, implementing remote learning protocols and meal programs for underprivileged students. He faced backlash, particularly from the progressive community, for certain COVID-19 strategies, such as advocating for the resumption of in-person classes and the continuation of state assessments amidst the health crisis.
Perhaps most controversially, the Connecticut Department of Education under Cardona worked with the Connecticut state government to implement a mandate which required all Connecticut high schools to offer classes in African-American, Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino studies. Cardona supported the mandate, claiming that “identities matter” and citing the need for “culturally relevant content in classrooms.” The curriculum incorporates critical race theory, a left-wing social movement to consider all historical and societal events through a racial lens. The curriculum requires students to spend at least three days discussing “systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement, requires that teachers teach that race is a social construct, and portrays racism as being foundational to the United States.
Below, are some of the implementations left by his service:
Cromwell Middle School Safe School Climate Plan
Canterbury Elementary School Learn Through Play With Sparkler
East Ridge Middle School – No Place for Hate
Nutmeg Book Award Grades 2-3
Nutmeg Book Award Grades 4-6
Nutmeg Book Award Grades 7-8
Nutmeg Book Award Grades 9-12
Dolan Middle School Student Support Services
Stamford Public Schools Safe School Climate Plan
Middletown Public Schools Portrait of a Global Citizen
Middletown Social Emotional Learning and Intervention “MSELI”
Greenwich Public Schools Social Emotional Learning
Greenwich Public Schools Nondiscrimination and Equity Statement
Cromwell High School Required Summer Reading
Cromwell Schools 2024 Summer Newsletter
Connecticut Core Standards
It’s easy to see where this country will be in 4 more years if this present administration and the chosen ones for the future remain in place. Our children and grandchildren are our biggest investments in our lives. We need to invest as wisely in them as we would our financial assets, as well as all else.
If not us, who?
