Dr. Miguel Cardona

Print photos

Secretary Cardona was nominated by President Joe Biden and sworn into office as the 12th United States Secretary of Education on March 2, 2021. 

Secretary Cardona is one of three children, whose grandparents moved from Puerto Rico in the 1960s for better opportunities in the mainland United States. That experience, and his bicultural upbringing, helped shape Secretary Cardona's passion to serve all students and improve their opportunities for success. 

Throughout his career, Secretary Cardona's focus has been on raising the bar for equity and excellence in education for all learners. This is what guides his leadership of the U.S. Department of Education and his service to the nation's 65 million students, ranging from prekindergarten to adult learners, and their families. 

At the beginning of his tenure, Secretary Cardona led the nation's efforts to safely reopen schools and within nine months, the percentage of schools open went from 45 to nearly 100 percent. He oversaw the distribution of historic $170 billion in federal education funding for PreK to 12 schools and colleges; worked to increase higher education access, affordability, and student success; and led unprecedented federal efforts to transform the country's student loan system. 

Secretary Cardona continues to highlight the urgency of seizing this moment through intentional collaboration—particularly working in partnership with parents, families, students, and educators—and the opportunity we have, as a nation, not only recovering from the pandemic, but reimagining a higher-performing and more equitable education system that works better for all. 

The four pillars of his educational agenda, Raise the Bar, were: Academic Recovery and Excellence, Improving Conditions for Educators and Mental Health, Global Competitiveness through Career Pathways and Multilingualism, and College Affordability and Accessibility.

To date these efforts have seen the greatest one year growth in reading achievement for lower performing students, an increase from zero to 48 states programming to pay student teachers through apprenticeships, 16,000 additional school counselors and mental health experts, and over $175 billion dollars in debt relief to nearly 5 million Americans. This fall, Federal Student Aid will award Pell Grants to 10% more students than last year.

Prior to becoming U. S. Secretary of Education, Secretary Cardona served as the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut where he led safe school reopening efforts by providing school districts with a balance of guidance, local autonomy, and the oversight needed to ensure equitable and meaningful educational opportunities for students, at the same time, prioritizing public health mitigation measures.

Secretary Cardona's approach to leadership in Connecticut focused on partnerships within his Education Department, between state agencies, and with local boards, educator unions, school administrator associations, child advocates, and most importantly, students and families. He attributes his success in Connecticut, in part, to those strong partnerships. 

Secretary Cardona has over two decades of experience as a public-school educator from Meriden, Connecticut, the same school system he attended as a child. He began his career as an elementary school teacher and went on to serve as an elementary school principal, where he led a school with outstanding programming for three to five-year-old students; students with developmental delays, students with autism and other sensory needs, and students enrolled in the district's bilingual education program. Following that role, Secretary Cardona led performance and evaluation efforts for the Meriden Public Schools and became assistant superintendent for teaching and learning. 

He is the recipient of the 2012 National Distinguished Principal Award for the State of Connecticut and the Outstanding Administrator Award from University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education. 

Secretary Cardona earned a bachelor's degree from Central Connecticut State University, a master's degree, two additional advanced leadership certifications, and a doctoral degree from the University of Connecticut. His greatest source of pride is his family. Secretary Cardona and his beautiful wife Marissa, also an educator, are the proud parents of two children.