Secretary of Education Cardona discusses his priorities, emphasizes student engagement

In late January, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona gave a major address at the Department of Education, laying out his vision for improving the American education system. He largely focused on continued recovery through the pandemic and the need for broader investments in education to ensure all students have the supports they need to succeed and thrive. Among the priorities discussed, the Secretary set a goal for increased access to out of school time activities for older youth. He also emphasized the importance of American Rescue Plan funds being used for effective strategies like “afterschool and summer programs to meet the needs of our students and the demands of our economy.”

The wide-ranging speech included strategies the Department, schools, and colleges and universities must take to help students, educators, and school communities – from preschool through postsecondary education – continue to recover from the pandemic and address inequities in the education system.

Regarding engaging older youth in out of school activities, the Secretary stated the following: “I’d like to see every high school student in America participate in at least one extracurricular activity in their school—whether that is being a part of an arts or theater program, athletics, or an afterschool club. All kids must be seen, all kids must be connected, and all kids must hear their names in school every day.”

There are currently close to 2 million high school students who are involved in programs afterschool and 4.6 million who would participate in a program if one were available to them. Programs that work with older youth help them stay on track for success, help equip young people with skills and competencies for life and work, provide an opportunity for them to find their passion, and prepare students for college and the future workforce.

The Secretary also went into detail on the funding available through the American Rescue Plan signed into law last March, and highlighted using the funds for successful strategies like providing afterschool and summer learning programs:

“Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris's leadership in passing the American Rescue Plan and providing $130 billion, schools have the resources to not only stay open, but invest in recovery. We moved with urgency and I am proud to say that 100% of the funds are now in the states’ hands for use to support our students, families, and educators. Across the country, cities and rural communities alike can use these unprecedented resources to invest today in strategies we know work to help our kids catch up and succeed. Strategies like targeted, intensive tutoring, or after school and summer programs to meet the needs of our students and the demands of our economy. Across our country, entire communities, including parents, educators and students themselves should be brainstorming together about how we can deploy these resources to help schools do this work.”

To help support use of ARP funds, in late January the Department, along with the National Comprehensive Center, released a new resource to help states share their progress deploying ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. The ARP Partnership, Assistance, Transformation, and Heightened Support (PATHS) tool invites states to describe the strategies they are implementing that could serve as promising practices in ensuring that ARP ESSER funds are used appropriately and effectively, as intended by the law. The tool has six sections based on ARP ESSER state plan applications; under each section, states may indicate their implementation status, describe their progress, and outline promising practices or impact. 

The full address laid out key actions in four priority areas that will guide the Department's work over the coming months and years:

• Support students through pandemic response and recovery. 
  • Engaging families as core partners to educators
  • Addressing missed instruction through intensive tutoring, afterschool and summer learning, and other evidence-based practices
  • Increasing access to social, emotional, and mental health supports for all students
  • Encouraging every student to participate in at least one extracurricular activity
• Boldly address opportunity and achievement gaps.
  • Increasing funding for Title I schools and for IDEA in order to close gaps in access to educational opportunity
  • Providing every family the opportunity to start on a level playing field through free, universal pre-K and affordable high-quality child care
  • Investing in, recruiting, and supporting the professional development of a diverse educator workforce, including special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and bilingual educators so education jobs are ones that people from all backgrounds want to pursue
  • Challenging states and districts to fix broken systems that may perpetuate inequities in our schools
• Make higher education more inclusive and affordable.
  • Providing targeted loan relief to student borrowers
  • Holding colleges and universities accountable for taking advantage of borrowers
  • Ensuring borrowers have loan payment options that reflect their economic circumstances
  • Making long term improvements to programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and creating a strong Gainful Employment Rule so career programs aren't leaving students with mountains of debt and without good job opportunities
• Ensure pathways through higher education lead to successful careers.
  • Reimagining the connection between p-12, higher education, and workforce
  • Collaborating with the Department of Labor and Department of Commerce to invest in career preparation programs that meet the needs of today's economy
  • Prioritizing grant programs that allow students to return to higher education or pursue career and technical education programs at any point in their lives and careers
  • Investing in colleges and universities that serve underrepresented groups and increase access to and funding for programs like Pell Grants

The afterschool field looks forward to working with Department to support families and students through increased access to quality afterschool and summer learning programs that can help give young people the tools they need to succeed and thrive.