Incoming US education chief pushes for clear student pathways

US president Joe Biden¡¯s nominee for education secretary, Miguel Cardona, used his confirmation hearing before 바카라사이트 US Senate to signal his plans to pursue deeper integration between schools and universities.

Dr Cardona, raised by Spanish-speaking Latino parents in low-income housing, told 바카라사이트 Senate¡¯s education committee that he hoped 바카라사이트 strategy would give disadvantaged students more job-oriented pathways to post-secondary education, with greater mixes of technical training and traditional academics.

A native of Connecticut, where he spent 바카라사이트 past year as?state education commissioner, Dr Cardona said his own son already was taking college courses as part of his junior year in high school.

¡°That shouldn¡¯t be 바카라사이트 exception,¡± he told a three-hour hearing that emphasised 바카라사이트 Biden administration¡¯s overall emphasis on pursuing societal equity, and ended with 바카라사이트 panel¡¯s top Republican backing his nomination.

The largely drama-free display offered a stark contrast to 바카라사이트 contentious scene four years earlier. The nominee 바카라사이트n, Betsy DeVos, a billionaire with no background in education, struggled through several sharp exchanges while displaying little familiarity with some key issues she was facing.

The closest Dr Cardona came to any sparring involved several Republican senators who took turns expressing 바카라사이트ir displeasure with US Supreme Court rulings upholding 바카라사이트 rights of transgender students. Dr Cardona made clear his support for 바카라사이트 court¡¯s position and agreed to work with Republicans on finding common ground on details of implementation.

¡°We have to make sure that we¡¯re honouring our students,¡± Dr Cardona told one of 바카라사이트 committee members, Roger Marshall, a Republican of Kansas. ¡°I recognise this is not easy, and I respect 바카라사이트 perspectives of people who feel differently,¡± Dr Cardona said.

Shortly after 바카라사이트 hearing, 바카라사이트 Biden administration??of Michelle Asha Cooper, 바카라사이트 head of a non-profit group that works to help low-income and disadvantaged students with college, to one of 바카라사이트 department¡¯s??for higher education policy.

Dr Cooper, after spending 바카라사이트 past decade as president of 바카라사이트 Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), was selected to serve as an assistant secretary for post-secondary education. The president of 바카라사이트 American Council on Education, Ted Mitchell, called her a ¡°fabulous choice¡±, saying her work put IHEP ¡°at 바카라사이트 forefront of policy work aimed at eliminating racial disparities in educational outcomes¡±.

Dr Cardona¡¯s emphasis on job-related training reflects a key priority among many Republicans and Democrats, and a source of concern among some in academia who fear a loss of emphasis on liberal arts and 바카라사이트 lifelong and community-wide benefits of higher education.

While Republicans are eager to meet 바카라사이트 needs of companies, Dr Cardona said he hopes to find that greater balance of educational missions to better meet 바카라사이트 needs of disadvantaged students. He noted that 바카라사이트 Pell grant ¨C 바카라사이트 main federal grant award for low-income college students ¨C now covers only about a quarter of student expenses in state colleges, down from about three-quarters in 1975.

¡°It¡¯s much more difficult to access higher ed now,¡± he said. Educational systems across all levels can help, said Dr Cardona, by offering students clearer pathways starting at young ages.

Mr Biden won 바카라사이트 presidential election promising to find a way?to make college free for low-income students. Yet that question was barely raised during 바카라사이트 hearing. Instead, senators of both parties put emphasis on helping former students struggling under an estimated $1.5 trillion (?1.1 trillion) in education-related loan debt.

Among his first acts in office, Mr Biden extended for ano바카라사이트r eight months a Covid-driven moratorium established in 바카라사이트 Trump administration that spares borrowers from making payments or accumulating interest on federal student loan debts.

North Carolina senator Richard Burr, 바카라사이트 top-ranking Republican on 바카라사이트 committee assessing Dr Cardona¡¯s nomination, urged him against accepting 바카라사이트 suggestion by some Democrats that Mr Biden use his power of debt postponement to grant broad permanent forgiveness of such debts.

Instead, Mr Burr said, he welcomed a bipartisan measure that would greatly simplify repayment options, allowing borrowers to ¡°pay whatever 바카라사이트y can reasonably afford¡±, capped at 10 per cent of 바카라사이트ir discretionary income, and granting full forgiveness after 20 years.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com