As the COVID-19 vaccine distribution continues and the nation transitions to a state of recovery, many Americans remain eager to experience a sense of normalcy again.
However, normalcy—in the context of education—would entail returning to a “broken system,” said Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education.
“This is our moment to ensure that we reopen, reinvest and reimagine our schools differently and better than ever before,” said Cardona. “If we go back to how it was, we would be returning to a system where you can predict outcomes based on race and place. Where the color of your skin and zip codes are better determinants of outcomes than the actual aptitude of our learners.”
Cardona convened education stakeholders on Tuesday for a webinar titled “Building Equitable Learning Environments in Our Schools.” First Lady Dr. Jill Biden emphasized that the current administration is committed to “building back [school systems] better than before.”
She noted that during the first few months of his presidency, Joe Biden introduced the American Families Plan and pledged to fully fund the Individuals With Disabilities Act.
“We are going to make sure classrooms have what they need to address disparities by dramatically increasing funding for Title I schools,” said Jill Biden. “We are going to make sure three and four-year-olds have access to preschools. We are going to reimagine how we serve families everywhere, including by creating more community schools.”
As K-12 leaders highlighted strategies to address existing educational inequities throughout the webinar, many revolved around bringing students and their families to the forefront of the conversation.
