Addressing a packed room of educators this week, Dr. Miguel Cardona reflected on the moment three years ago when he was tapped to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education. He recalled President Biden’s directive to him: “I need somebody to defend public education while others try to defund it.”
Having taught in the same high-poverty Connecticut district where he himself had been an English learner—and where he continues to make his home—Cardona credited his own teachers for laying the groundwork that led to him serving in the President’s Cabinet.
“That’s public education, folks,” he told the cheering crowd.
Empowered to lead
Cardona was the keynote speaker at Empowered to Lead (E2Lead), an annual symposium hosted by the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council (CTTOY). Nearly 200 educators and stakeholders, including Connecticut statewide and district-level teachers of the year, gathered at Mohegan Sun for a day of collaborating, celebrating, and learning.
“This is a stellar group of professionals,” Cardona said. “We know teachers transform lives. You do it with joy, professionalism, and energy every single day. You are the backbone of public education, a system that works because of teachers like you who make it work. There’s a lot of humility in this profession. Teachers don’t always look for acknowledgement, but I want to remind you that you are the face of this profession that makes all other professions possible—so accept the accolades! Take a moment to recognize that in this country, we need to lift up our teachers and respect the profession. Stand up tall and say, ‘Yes! I represent this profession.’”
Cardona named key educators who saw his potential as a young student, ignited a spark, and set him on his journey to teach, beginning with elementary school art teacher Gary O’Neil. “He was my first male teacher and the only Black teacher I ever had. Forty years later, he’s still teaching.”
O’Neil—along with Cardona’s high school art teacher, Linda Ransom—joined the Education Secretary in D.C. this summer, where he showed them around the White House and national monuments and acknowledged,
“You’re the ones who made this possible for me.”
He told teachers gathered at E2Lead, “You are the Gary O’Neils and the Linda Ransoms in someone else’s life, and the students you serve are no different from me 40 years ago.”
New challenges
Among the secretary’s challenges, he added, are state and national policy proposals that reflect a different vision for our nation’s education system and create “boogeymen” each year, centering on everything from masks to banned books, transphobia, and DEI.
CEA Vice President Joslyn DeLancey and President Kate Dias greet U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
“Consider the rapid expansion of voucher programs across the country. It’s bad enough that the data show these taxpayer-funded vouchers go to affluent families instead of the lower-income families they claim to be for. It’s bad enough that these vouchers siphon resources from public schools that serve all students, including underserved students and those with special needs. And now we’re seeing some states tying teacher compensation to the expansion of voucher programs. Pay attention, folks. These policies have nothing to do with strengthening public education. On the contrary, they have everything to do with creating a parallel private education system for the privileged few and abandoning the public education system that is the foundation of opportunity in this country.”
Cardona talked about the need for increased respect for the teaching profession, including more autonomy and better working conditions; space and time for teacher collaboration and reflection; and continued investment in teachers, beginning with competitive salaries.
“We have to stop normalizing that teachers make 40 percent less than similarly educated professionals, and we have to stop normalizing the fact that teachers have to take on second jobs,” he said.
Referring to frequent comparisons between the system of public education in the United States and that of Finland—often held up as a gold standard worldwide—Cardona remarked, “I often say we want Finland results but don’t put in Finland investments.’
Read more about E2Lead in the summer edition of the CEA Advisor online on August 8.
