U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona had a clear message to teachers and others working in schools when he took office almost a year ago: I am one of you, and I鈥檓 here to support you.
That message resonated with much of the nation鈥檚 education workforce. Yet as the pandemic continues to disrupt schools and unsettle educators, Cardona has drawn the ire of those teachers who say he hasn鈥檛 pushed their concerns hard enough amid the Biden administration鈥檚 call for in-person learning.
鈥淲hat causes me great frustration is we know Secretary Cardona has an education background, but we don鈥檛 really see him truly empathizing with teachers and fighting for us,鈥� said Patrick Harris, a middle school teacher in Detroit, adding that he hasn鈥檛 seen much concrete action from the U.S. Department of Education to support teachers during a grueling school year. 鈥淚 need him to call out the crisis that we are experiencing.鈥�
The Education Department, which did not make Cardona available for an interview, insists that the secretary is standing up for educator concerns.
Under Cardona, the department has opened civil rights probes into states it says have jeopardized the health of people in schools by banning mask requirements in local districts. In August, that his agency would use 鈥渆very tool in our toolbox to protect the health and safety of students and educators.鈥�
how K-12 leaders can use federal COVID-19 relief to address acute issues such as staff shortages. And so far, he hasn鈥檛 publicly condemned administrators who have shut down school buildings when they鈥檝e deemed it necessary.
Yet a vocal subset of teachers online say some of the education secretary鈥檚 messaging鈥攑articularly on Twitter, which draws a sizable number of engaged teachers鈥攈as seemed to ignore the stresses and anxieties educators on the front lines are grappling with.
While this is not indicative of widespread discontent among teachers, it highlights the fine line Cardona has to walk between advocating for the administration鈥檚 priorities and representing teacher voices. It鈥檚 a difficult task, and some teachers say Cardona is missing the mark.
Some teachers, who say they want schools to be open just like Cardona and President Joe Biden do, are worried about how they鈥檙e going to keep instruction going with surging COVID-19 case numbers and large numbers of students and staff absent at any given point. They鈥檙e not sure if Cardona fully appreciates that reality.
And many teachers say they feel their concerns about a lack of proper safety measures have been ignored by policymakers for too long, whether it鈥檚 by Cardona or their local officials. Condemning bans on school masks is one thing, while not doing more to ensure schools have enough masks is another, in their view.
鈥淚t feels as if the messaging [from policymakers] has become increasingly blunt and really lacking empathy for those who are feeling vulnerable at this time,鈥� said Christie Nold, a high school social studies teacher in Vermont.
Federal officials insist they鈥檙e listening and acting
Department staffers said Cardona and the Biden administration have demonstrated in words and actions that educators are at the top of his priority list. Among other things, the department cited the administration鈥檚 move to prioritize teachers for COVID-19 vaccinations at the start of the president鈥檚 term, and Cardona鈥檚 constant contact with union officials and district leaders about on-the-ground concerns.
They also say that the secretary has made it clear in a steady wave of public appearances that educators are the ones who have helped keep the vast majority of school buildings open, and has shared what teachers and others need for that to continue.
鈥淗e still sees himself as an educator. You listen to him talk, you鈥檙e listening to a teacher talk,鈥� said Christian Rhodes, the chief of staff in the department鈥檚 office of elementary and secondary education. 鈥淚f you talk to teachers, to a person, they all recognize that our students, who are ultimately our primary responsibility, have suffered greatly from being out of school.鈥�
Observers say Cardona must navigate how to speak to educators鈥� concerns without seeming too parochial or straying from the Biden administration鈥檚 position that schools can and should be open, as most are. Throughout much of the pandemic, Cardona has tried to strike a collegial tone and talked up collaboration as a priority.
Still, Cardona could use his standing to visit schools more often and speak out more frequently to acknowledge and legitimize the concerns of educators in addition to other groups, said Pedro Noguera, the dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.
鈥淚 do see a vacuum here,鈥� Noguera said. 鈥淚t can鈥檛 just be that the only constituents we hear from are unions or angry parents or mayors.鈥�
But given current tensions and the 鈥渉uge balancing act鈥� he faces, it鈥檚 smart for Cardona not to make a public example of anyone or any school district, and instead have conversations behind the scenes or informally when necessary, said June Atkinson, who served as a Democratic state superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina for three terms.
鈥淚f it is not advantageous for parents and children and educators, then perhaps [he] should remain silent. It鈥檚 not necessary to comment on everything,鈥� said Atkinson, who thinks Cardona鈥檚 done a very good job on the communications issue in the current conditions.
At the same time, 鈥淚 would ask him to remember that educators are scared and stressed鈥� and dealing with child care difficulties and other issues like the rest of the population, Atkinson said.
Cardona falls short of some teachers鈥� high expectations
Some teachers say they鈥檙e disappointed in Cardona in part because they had such high expectations when his nomination was announced. Cardona taught for five years before becoming a principal, which stood in stark contrast to his predecessor Betsy DeVos, who was deeply unpopular among teachers.
鈥淲e finally got advocates for teachers in the administration, and teachers have not benefitted from that,鈥� said Harris, the Detroit teacher, who wants to see action on things like more personal protective equipment in schools and raising teacher pay, which was one of Biden鈥檚 campaign promises.
Then there鈥檚 Cardona鈥檚 Twitter messaging in recent weeks, which some teachers say has been tone-deaf to the stressors of the moment or even shown disregard for teachers鈥� concerns.
One example: On Jan. 8, Cardona in conversation, under a multicolored balloon arch, with Hope and Wade King, former teachers who are the co-founders of the Get Your Teach On conference. Replies to his tweet quickly flooded with teachers questioning why he wasn鈥檛 meeting with people currently in the classroom, and what he was going to do to keep them and their students safe.
鈥淭he tone was a little too perky compared to the reality of what public education is like right now,鈥� said Corinne Altham, an elementary school librarian in South Portland, Maine. 鈥淲e were reacting to the pastel balloons and joyful presentation that the secretary of education was sitting in. That is not our reality right now.鈥�
Yet the next day, , 鈥淗aving a lazy Sunday? Use this time to make your vaccination or booster appointment,鈥� drawing hundreds of angry responses from teachers whose stress levels have skyrocketed this school year.
鈥淭he messaging of, 鈥業t鈥檚 a lazy Sunday,鈥� when [COVID-19 case] numbers are off the charts ... and when educators are expressing frustration, concern, and fear鈥攊t feels remarkably out of touch,鈥� said Nold, the Vermont teacher. 鈥淭hat is hard to make sense of, and makes me wonder who he may or may not be in conversation with.鈥�
There are signs that some of the criticism is getting through to Cardona, or his communications team. Cardona鈥檚 official Twitter account鈥攚hich at one point followed only fellow administration members and government accounts鈥攏ow follows several educators, including some state teachers of the year. He also tweeted photos of himself talking with current teachers during the Extra Yard for Teachers summit, hosted by the College Football Playoff Foundation and sponsored by Get Your Teach On.
And on Jan. 12, Cardona teachers and families across the country, and that, 鈥淚 have been listening and acting on what you鈥檝e told me.鈥� Cardona has the White House鈥檚 Jan. 12 announcement that it will be deploying 10 million COVID-19 tests to schools every month鈥攁long with other resources鈥�. And he鈥檚 also how schools can use American Rescue Plan money to operate safely.
In the last several weeks, Cardona has visited schools in Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, and Vermont; some of those visits overlapped with the omicron surge. Those kinds of public visits, department staff said, are just one example of how Cardona isn鈥檛 content to be passive and pretend teachers are fine.
鈥淲e know that there have been challenges and changes that have [arisen] as the pandemic has evolved. But we have been very aggressive in taking action where we can to support educators and staff, as well as students,鈥� said Rachel Thomas, the department鈥檚 acting assistant secretary for communications and outreach. 鈥淭here are others who may be taking up oxygen on this, but he has been very active in this space.鈥�
Asked about concerns around Cardona鈥檚 approach to social media, Rhodes said the department does not want the public to lose sight of the role educators have played in the pandemic, even amid ongoing frustrations.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e done everything we鈥檝e asked them to do and more,鈥� Rhodes said of teachers.
Getting the 鈥榖enefit of the doubt鈥�
Despite some of the misgivings from teachers online, Cardona has allies in the two national teachers鈥� unions.
鈥淚 think he gets a lot of benefit of the doubt, and he is well-liked, and people know that he鈥檚 working very hard,鈥� said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten in an interview, citing his experience as a teacher, a principal, a state commissioner, and a parent. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been out all throughout the country [this year] basically having people鈥檚 backs and trying to not just cheerlead, but help make sure that we are working on the recovery of kids as much as possible.鈥�
Cardona鈥檚 strength, she said, is that he can see the education issues from different angles. Once schools get past the current upheaval caused by the omicron variant, Weingarten expects him to focus more on social-emotional and academic initiatives to help students recover from the pandemic鈥檚 disruptions. In the meantime, she said, she appreciates that he鈥檚 using Twitter to directly communicate with people, even though that can sometimes lead to negative responses.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to be able to please everybody all the time, and people right now are scared,鈥� Weingarten said. 鈥淭he administration has not moved as fast as we would like on the issue of masks, on the issue of tests, but look what they鈥檝e done in the last two weeks.鈥�
In a statement, National Education Association President Becky Pringle noted the stressors and anxieties teachers and parents are battling in year two of the pandemic, and said, 鈥淲e appreciate Sec. Cardona鈥檚 continued efforts to communicate with all audiences in this rapidly changing landscape.鈥�
Teachers who have interacted with Cardona say he seems to care deeply about what鈥檚 happening in the classroom. Tabatha Rosproy, the 2020 National Teacher of the Year, spent a lot of time with Cardona during the Extra Yard for Teachers summit. She said it felt like he was present and eager to hear from educators.
鈥淚n my experience, he has been nothing but a listening ear,鈥� said Rosproy, who is an early-childhood support teacher near Kansas City, Kan.
Still, Rosproy said while the conditions in schools during the omicron surge are largely determined by local policies, it would help if Cardona spoke out more on teacher safety and 鈥渒ept some pressure on schools to keep employees safe.鈥�
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 in a really difficult position as the secretary of education,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e tries to be encouraging, but that doesn鈥檛 mean he doesn鈥檛 understand the issues.鈥�
Not alone in the messaging challenge
COVID-19鈥檚 persistence means Cardona and other leaders must be sensitive to practical challenges and limitations educators are facing, said Monica Higgins, a professor of education leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
鈥淩ight now, given COVID, we are all working to minimize disappointment in education鈥攆or our students, for our teachers and staff, and for our communities. Not an easy job, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� Higgins wrote in an email.
Throughout the school closure debates, Cardona has used mild and encouraging rhetoric and hasn鈥檛 made himself a big story, said Nat Malkus, the deputy director for education policy at the American Enterprise Institute. Most importantly, the majority of teachers are in classrooms and therefore doing what Cardona wants, said Malkus.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 talking terribly pointedly about the issue,鈥� Malkus said of Cardona鈥檚 approach to the pandemic. 鈥淗e鈥檚 pushing downhill.鈥�
Malkus also said he doubts any teacher frustration with Cardona will get the kind of traction that backlash to former education secretaries like DeVos or Arne Duncan did in the Trump and Obama administrations, because his strategy has basically been 鈥減alatable to all but the biggest skeptics鈥� of reopening schools.
鈥淗e was in part hired because he did a pretty good job of getting kids back鈥� in school in 2020, Malkus added, referring to Cardona鈥檚 work as Connecticut鈥檚 education commissioner. 鈥淗e did it without amplifying discord when he did it.鈥�
Overall, educators are exhausted, said Nold, the Vermont teacher, and they need support and listening more than anything else.
鈥淚t has been an incredibly challenging time [for those in schools], and I think for no other reason, that鈥檚 a call to lead with empathy,鈥� she said.
