The English Learner Who Became Secretary of Education

For Dr. Miguel Cardona, growing up in a Puerto Rican household in Meriden, Connecticut —straddling two languages and two cultures— uniquely prepared him for his role as Secretary of Education. He comes to the department at a moment when education in the country has both new and long-lasting challenges: systemic inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this conversation, Secretary Cardona shares what it was like to grow up in a Latino home in Connecticut, the possibility of bilingual education for all students, and what the Department of Education is doing to meet the challenges of returning to school amidst a continuing global pandemic.