Recently confirmed U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona arrived at Laurel Elementary School on Wednesday to a chorus of second graders singing the school song. Following a tour, classroom visits and a roundtable discussion with school administration and department leaders, he left with several pages of notes after hearing the challenges, setbacks and successes of the Laurel School District during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I know you are doing well here. And to talk to the educators, like the ones I met today in the classrooms who, despite their jobs being turned upside down in the last 12 months, they are smiling and giving hope to our students,” said Mr. Cardona.
- I wonder why they picked Laurel. Should have visited Holy Cross to see how schools opened full time months ago. — Kevin McCarthy
- Impossible. First State Update members keep saying schools are closed. — John Smith
- Well, that’s already far more than DeVos did. — Matt Hickman
- Claiming two days a week as success, while touting how they are saving COVID money instead of using it to fully reopen, shows how out of touch both the secretary and these administrators are with reality. — Chris Ostrom
- “To a chorus of second graders singing the school song.” Yet so often, the arts are the first programs to receive reduced funding, while also the first ones called upon to be the face of a school for an important event. — Andrea Stewart Davis
