In-person learning Cardona’s top priority

The confirmation of Miguel Cardona as U.S. secretary of education this week was a moment of pride for all Connecticut. During his swift rise from teacher to administrator to state education commissioner to the pinnacle of his profession, Cardona has consistently displayed the qualities we’d all like to see in our educators.

As he made clear in his return this week to Meriden, where he began his career, he knows the hard work is only now beginning.

Though there are many issues that demand attention at the federal Department of Education, top of mind is the status of schools during the pandemic. Many students went months without in-person learning as districts took whatever means were necessary to slow the spread of the coronavirus. While technology allows instruction to continue online, the toll it has taken on a generation of students may not be fully known for years.

Children need to be around each other. They need every part of school — not just the curriculum, but the socialization, the physical activity, the chance to be around their peers and to get out of the house. When they are denied that, the price they pay in terms of their mental health can be substantial.

Through it all, teachers have persevered. Though some small-minded critics have taken them to task for the prevalence of online learning, teachers should instead be thanked for keeping the system running as well as it has. Often they have no idea from one week to the next — even one day to the next — whether they will be in-person or online, and so have to create separate lesson plans and make changes on the fly. No one wants the return of in-person learning more than teachers.

But just as clearly, they want to know it is safe. With the state carving out vaccination opportunities for educators amid its strict age-based formula released last week by Gov. Ned Lamont, there should be a greater feeling of well-being on the part of teachers, who are on the front lines every day in facing potential infection.

Administrators have been faced with a near-impossible task over the past year of trying to ensure community safety from the virus while also making certain that children are still learning and not suffering mentally. Many Connecticut districts are now back to full, in-person learning, some even five days a week, and the good news on vaccine availability in coming months has many people hoping to avoid any more backsliding.

Cardona said he plans to use Meriden, which has been inperson for months, as a model for the rest of the country. That may be easier said than done, as not every state has been as steadfast about wearing masks and keeping socially distant as Connecticut has been. Some states are prematurely declaring victory by removing mask mandates, against the advice of every health professional.

This is the difficult job Cardona faces. In-person schooling is vital to our society’s well-being, and he has been tasked specifically with ensuring the country is on a path toward ending remote learning. By following medical advice, we can get there.

Though critics have taken them to task for the prevalence of online learning, teachers should instead be thanked for keeping the system running as well as it has.