Ex-education secretary defends public schools, diversity in Springfield address
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Biden's former secretary of education, Dr. Miguel Cardona, was in Springfield and served as the keynote speaker at the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents Leadership Conference.
In his address, he referenced the trump administration's cuts to the Department of Education, acknowledging educators' values are under attack.
He says these cuts will have a profound impact on students and the local level. He said, educators can use their position to 'lead at a time when their country needs them. 'Public education is under attack,' he says. 'The diversity that makes this country so unique and the best country in the world is under attack. This is the best time to lead. Where our students can see value in themselves and that different doesn't mean bad. That we can come together under one flag and support public education and allow every student to succeed.'
During his time as the 12th U.S. Secretary of Education, Cardona oversaw the distribution of $170 billion in federal education funding for pre-K-12 schools and colleges.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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