By a bipartisan 64-33 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Miguel Cardona as the federal Secretary of Education on March 1.
Cardona will help lead the Biden administration’s efforts to reopen schools during the pandemic.
As a child of parents who came to the mainland from Puerto Rico, Dr. Cardona grew up in public housing projects and did not speak English when he started elementary school.
NJSBA Executive Director Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod praised the confirmation.
“Dr. Cardona has outstanding experience as a teacher, school administrator and as the Connecticut state commissioner of education,” said Feinsod. “His personal background reflects the challenges facing our nation’s increasingly diverse student population. Dr. Cardona began school speaking only Spanish and knows the challenges facing English language learners.
“He takes office in the midst of a crisis,” Feinsod said. “Dr. Cardona’s colleagues in Connecticut praise him as a strong, collaborative and inclusive leader, and we trust those skills will help him meet the demands of this moment.”