From the CEO: Education priorities now and in the future

This edition of Kappan features an interview with former Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. He gives an insider’s perspective about the national landscape of education as he experienced it during his time serving in the Joe Biden administration. While Kappan is a nonpartisan publication and not aligned with a particular political ideology, our interview was designed to showcase what priorities existed during former President Biden’s term and to look ahead to the priorities that the Donald Trump administration and the new secretary of education may consider for America’s public schools. To that end, I asked the secretary what advice he’d give to the next leaders of the Department of Education. (At the time of this writing, the Senate has not confirmed nominee Linda McMahon.)

Some clear priorities will cross party lines. As you may have seen in the 2024 PDK Poll, there is broad bipartisan support for programs that prepare students to enter the workforce. Americans, and specifically parents, want to make sure schools prepare students for their future. Additionally, there was clear bipartisan support for recruiting and retaining great teachers. This work to end teacher shortages is essential to our new mission and vision statements at PDK International. We hope to be a thought leader with policy makers on this work.

Another policy area of focus will likely be ensuring that our schools are safe for both students and staff. While the 2022 PDK Poll showed broad support among Americans for such safety measures as mental health screenings, metal detectors, and police in schools, their support for each measure is not necessarily strong, and some partisan differences exist. Even if Americans do not agree on the best solutions, they should agree on the outcome. Teachers deserve a safe environment to do their best work, and students need to learn in an environment that does not induce fear and stress.