Biden's education secretary repeatedly stresses the importance of "wellness" and "equity" as center to the agency's priorities despite the nation's children experiencing a "catastrophic" decline in literacy
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was blasted by parent groups and advocates for leaving out academics in a statement of priorities amid the Department of Education's annual report card indicating the largest score drop in reading among 9-year-old students since 1990.
As children struggle to read on grade level, the DOE has been spending hundreds of millions on equity-focused programs and grants. On Wednesday, for example, the DOE announced $116 million in grants "to support equity."
Cardona said, "We're investing in schools and communities that have shown a commitment to intentionally serving students and closing opportunity gaps based on race."
The DOE is also offering $1 billion in grants via the Safer Communities Act to "advance equity" and to create "inclusive and supportive environments," the DOE said.
"It is essential that… educators consistently pa[y] close attention to communities that face systemic barriers," Cardona said on Sept. 15.
Throughout his time at the DOE, Cardona frequently highlights equity as a top priority. In regard to school closures, he said in June 2021 DOE press release, "we look at this reopening through a lens of equity. I don’t have to tell you that the inequities in education have been a constant."
On Oct. 3, Cardona said, "There can be no equity in education without digital equity." The DOE held an entire conference focusing on bringing equity in education to close the "digital divide."
"We will ensure our work always means equity," Cardona has said. On other occasions he specified that he meant "racial equity."
On Biden's first day in office, the president signed an executive order to address "systemic racism" and push equity into all federal agencies, the White House said. Vice President Kamala Harris similarly called for "equity" in the Hurricane Ian relief response in Florida.
Cardona has also said in 2022 that "encouraging teacher diversity" is a key priority.
"One of my key priorities is elevating & encouraging teacher diversity. Black male educators play a valuable role in our education system," he said.
Parents around the country as well as education experts have been complaining about decreases in literacy as a result of school closures. For example, a mother in Fairfax County, Virginia, named Kristin Jackson, blamed teachers' unions for her child's struggles with reading at grade level.
"I don't think they have the best interests of kids at all," she said.
Corey DeAngelis, national director of research for the American Federation for Children, criticized the education secretary for leaving out academics in his statement and accused him of being "owned by… teachers unions."
"The Secretary of Education nominated by Joe Biden – who is owned by power-hungry teachers unions – somehow forgot to mention raising the bar academically," he said. "How odd. It clearly must have been an honest mistake."
Former secretary of education William Bennett under President Ronald Reagan said that "[children's] life chances are radically diminished" when they struggle with literacy.
"Third-grade literacy falling is catastrophic both nationally and individually… When schools fail, the groups that are the hardest hit are those already at highest risk," Bennett said.
Pro bono literacy advocate Marilyn Muller from told "America’s Newsroom" that her daughter struggled in kindergarten academically and "very quickly showed signs… linked with reading failure."
The mom said it took an emotional impact on her daughter. The kindergartner became "frustrated" and began refusing to go to school.
"And in the afternoon when she would get off the bus, or I would pick her up at school, she would get into her safe space in the car and have what's called a basically a meltdown after school restraint," Muller said.
Within the context of children's scores falling below grade level, parent groups also blasted Cardona's social and emotional "wellness" priority, an ongoing stance for the education secretary.
Responding to the nation's tanking reading and math scores among children, Cardona said – during an interview with CBS News – "We should make sure mental health support access is a foundational part of the experience for our students and staff."
"For us, it's critically important that we provide a foundation for mental health support. Access to mental health supports. That we're aware of our students' emotional state. In order for them to grow academically it's important to take care of the whole child—making sure that they're ready to learn," he continued.
Cardona added that tutors, after-school and summer school can also help to close the gap in learning.
Around that same time period Cardona said on CNN that "teachers' salaries" and "agency" needed to be prioritized.
"I feel that we can fix this," he said, "if we focus on what we know works, and we support our educators… It's not just competitive pay. We need to give our teachers agency, better working conditions and competitive salaries."
The Department of Education previously released a statement to Fox News Digital which said, "Secretary Cardona has made clear that academic recovery is the department’s top priority in speeches, hundreds of visits, and thousands of tweets.
"Selectively choosing one tweet and ignoring the Secretary’s ongoing, consistent focus on academic recovery is disingenuous and doesn’t serve our nations students."
