Cardona: We are at the doorstep of a new chapter in American education – Smartbrief

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Education cannot return to what it was in March 2020; that system did not work for everyone, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said to educators at this years ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago.

We are at the doorstep of a new chapter of American education, Cardona said. Will we use this moment as a reset to boldly and unapologetically tackle the issues that have been pervasive in education? Or will we beat COVID only to succumb to complacency? We have more influence now than ever before in education. Lets remember why we signed up for this profession.

Cardona outlined his vision for moving American education forward and the role whole child education plays in it during his closing keynote discussion with ASCD board member Avis Williams and a post-keynote interview with me. Here are six takeaways from those conversations.

The most important thing school leaders can do in the next 22 months is create a culture of shared expectations a culture of problem-solving, where they may face unique challenges and not have all the answers, Cardona said.

These are different times, he explained. Creating a culture of intentional collaboration and looking at the whole child and the whole educator is probably more important now than ever before.

Cardona credited intentional collaboration teamwork among educators, school leaders and administrators for getting schools to 100% in-person, full-time instruction. This type of collaboration will be key to bringing true reset to our schools, he said.

Like the African proverb teaches us: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together, he said. Even this citys own Michael Jordan once said, Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. For our students each day in the classroom is a championship.

Improving outcomes for the whole child begins with improving support of the whole educator, according to Cardona.

We need to think differently about how we support our educators or else we shouldnt be surprised that they walk away, he said. He outlined three strategies he gleaned from conversations and visits hes held with educators over the last year.

Offer a competitive salary. Many educators hold a masters degree or higher; yet their salaries are not commensurate with their degrees. Added to this is the money they spend buying supplies for their classrooms and the time they take away from their families to plan lessons, grade school work or participate in school functions.

We need to change that culture in education, he said. Lift the profession by paying what educators should be getting paid. And this doesnt mean just [the American Rescue Plan]. We need to create the understanding at the state level [of the] importance of state funding for education and local funding.

Improve working conditions. Teachers need emotional support resources. Many suffered stress, anxiety and personal loss amid the pandemic. Counselors and other mental health resources offer valuable support as teachers continue navigating their new norm. When teachers know theyre cared for, theyre more likely to give their best, Cardona asserted.

When that emotional bandwidth is full because youre dealing with problems, its hard for you to be 100% of your job, he said. We have to make sure that we have folks whose job it is to be dedicated to the well-being of our professional staff, our classified staff, because when theyre OK, theyre going to take care of our kids better.

Engage teachers meaningfully. The work day should be conducive to professional growth. Cardona encouraged leaders to nurture intentional collaboration at their sites by embedding into the workday time for staff to come together, share ideas, discuss issues and problem-solve. Teachers shouldnt have to be learning about how to do a better job outside school hours, outside of their workday, he said.

COVID-19 turned students lives upside down. It was especially difficult for English-language learners, students with special needs and those with messy home lives absent parents, food insecurity, homelessness and domestic violence, among other issues. Helping students recuperate academically and emotionally from the pandemic will call for a new relationship between home and school, Cardona said.

The systems responsibility now is to go beyond the traditional relationship with families, he said. How do we help families so they can support their children?

Cardona urged school leaders to use their ARP funds to provide support services for families counseling, behavioral health assistance, after-school programming and help them reconnect with the school community. He cited the example of school districts in Boston and Las Vegas that used ARP dollars to develop parent engagement programs. At some sites, parents hold leadership roles at the school or in classrooms. Other sites hired family-school liaisons. These individuals visit students homes and foster relationships with families, in particular those who may have suffered increased trauma from the pandemic.

Programs like these go a long way toward reengaging the home-school connection. We must build these partnerships if we want to move forward educating children, said Cardona.

Parents must be at the table. Theyre the most influential and most important teachers of our students, he said. Whether theyre prepared or not, we have to work to build a family.

Educators need to share the wins theyre seeing in their classrooms. We talk a lot about what happened during the time schools were closed, said Cardona. But why do we brush over the improvement that happened in September when students were back in school because of the work of educators?

Its time to go on the offensive and control the narrative, asserted Cardona. Dont wait to defend what youre doing, he advised. Talk about the great work youre doing. Put faces to the benefits of the American Rescue Plan. You are experts in education.

Cardona highlighted a school district in Canton, Mich., that restructured the school schedules for all 6,000 of its high-school students. The new schedule gives every high-schooler one period per day for mental health support or social-emotional well-being activities. They made it happen, he said, referencing Cantons high-school leaders. They were bold, and they said, Were going to do this because its good for kids.

Talk about your successes, and be your districts biggest cheerleader for improvement and innovation, Cardona told the ASCD audience.

I believe the appetite for education funding in the next decade in this country will be guided by the perception of how ARP funds are used in the next 24 months, he said. I want you to share your best practices. I want you to lift up stories of success. If were not controlling our narrative, somebody else will.

Now is the time for schools to be bold about what they want to fix, Cardona said. He cautioned educators not to fall into a trap of complacency.

I would say over the last two years, I was afraid of COVID. For the next few years, Im afraid of complacency, he said.

Cardona exhorted leaders to maintain a high level of urgency around addressing disparity and invest their ARP money into programs aimed at breaking these cycles. He gave the example of Cascade School District in Washington. The district used its ARP dollars for evidence-based reading and math interventions, summer school and after-school tutoring.

Now its time to level up education to really build it to where its going to have impact for generations to come, he said. Embrace this opportunity to hit the reset on the things that we know didnt work. And let your fingerprints be on the plan for education in our country, and well move forward.

Education in America is on the cusp of change. Forging a new pathway wont be easy, but going backward is not an option, Cardona asserted.

We cant go back to March 2020. That system didnt work for everyone, he said. The decisions we make in the next 24 months will either help close the achievement disparities or widen them, especially for those students that were in the most impacted communities.

Cardona repeated his charge for educators to use their ARP resources for wraparound programs tutoring, mentoring and enrichment curricula that can help close these gaps.

Lets give every student in every phase of their academic lives the support they need to succeed, he said. If we make investments in our students and educators now, were champions not only for our school communities of today, but the school communities of tomorrow.

Success is within reach, but getting there will require a collective effort, Cardona said.

We need all hands on deck here. To level up our education system, we must involve teachers, school leaders, families, students and entire communities, said Cardona. Its not going to be easy. Its not meant to be easy. But I want you to work together. Were blessed to be in this position. This is the best time to be in education. Lets make a difference.

Kanoe Namahoe is the director of content for SmartBrief Education and Business Services. Reach her at kanoe.namahoe@futurenet.com.

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Cardona: We are at the doorstep of a new chapter in American education - Smartbrief